By Katie Merritt, Senior Research and Data Manager, Robert HalfEmployers facing hiring challenges in today’s labor market may want to consider offering flexible work arrangements. If they already do, stepping up their efforts to promote that fact could help them attract top talent. Research for Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report found that 60% of U.S. job seekers would like a hybrid role, while 37% are interested in a fully remote position.
It’s easy to understand — and relate to — professionals’ top reasons for wanting flexibility in where they work. More than three-quarters of the workers surveyed (78%) for the Demand for Skilled Talent report said they prefer flexible work arrangements so they can save time and money on commuting. And 61% said they can more easily accommodate personal commitments.The benefits of hiring remote and hybrid workers are also clear for employers. In addition to accessing a wider talent pool and potentially attracting more skilled applicants for jobs, offering flexible work can help boost retention. In another recent Robert Half survey, 38% of workers who aren’t looking for jobs right now said it is because they don’t want to lose the level of flexibility they have in their current role.
Here’s a breakdown of our findings based on data from Q1 2024:Marketing and creative: 27% hybrid, 16% remote
Finance and accounting: 24% hybrid, 9% remoteTechnology: 25% hybrid, 16% remoteLegal: 26% hybrid, 6% remote Human resources: 20% hybrid, 10% remoteAdministrative and customer support: 12% hybrid, 8% remoteHealthcare: 6% hybrid, 5% remote
Our analysis of the new hybrid and remote jobs created in Q1 2024 shows that flexible work arrangements are more common for senior-level roles, but there are opportunities for mid-level and entry-level professionals, too.Newly created hybrid and remote jobs — by experience level*Senior-level (5 or more years of experience): 40% hybrid, 35% remoteMid-level (3-5 years of experience): 36% hybrid, 34% remoteEntry-level (0-2 years of experience): 24% hybrid, 31% remote* Experience level refers to the years of relevant experience a job candidate has for a specific type of role. For example, a senior-level accountant would have five or more years of relevant experience in the accounting profession.
One of the most significant remote work trends that surfaced in our research for the Demand for Skilled Talent report is that employers offering flexible work options are creating more hybrid jobs than hiring for remote positions.For example, we found that new, fully in-office job postings declined in 2023 by 14 percentage points. At the end of 2023, 69% of job postings were for fully on-site roles. That number did not change in the first quarter of 2024.Fully on-siteQ1 23: 83%Q2 23: 75%Q3 23: 71%Q4 23: 69%Q1 24: 69%The number of hybrid and remote job postings declined slightly in the first quarter of 2024 after growing steadily throughout 2023. However, the number of listings for hybrid roles is still double what we observed in the first quarter of last year.Hybrid (h) vs. remote (r)Q1 23: 9% (h) x 7% (r)Q2 23: 14% (h) x 10% (r)Q3 23: 20% (h) vs. 9% (r)Q4 23: 20% (h) vs. 11% (r)Q1 24: 18% (h) vs. 8% (r)These findings suggest that employers continue to see value in offering flexible work options to employees. Our overall takeaway: The future of remote work in the United States is shifting firmly toward hybrid, while fully remote opportunities appear to be fading.
Robert Half also analyzed data by geography to understand how hybrid and remote work trends are developing across the country. We found that many employers in more rural states — where it can be challenging to find available local talent — are offering flexible work arrangements. But even in these areas, the trend is more toward hybrid work than fully remote.The following states saw at least 14% growth in hybrid job postings, year over year, from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024:Massachusetts: 22%Oregon: 17%New Hampshire: 16%Rhode Island: 15%Minnesota: 14%New York: 14%Washington, D.C.: 14%Our analysis also shows that states with a larger number of highly populated cities has continued to see growth in hybrid opportunities year over year, while in-office percentages varied by state.To see the full results from our analysis, view our infographic.And finally, among the 20 U.S. cities in focus in our geographic analysis of hybrid and remote work trends, these 10 locations saw the most growth in hybrid positions, year over year (YoY):Columbus, Ohio: 37% (25% YoY growth)Los Angeles: 33% (20% YoY growth)Phoenix: 30% (17% YoY growth)Dallas: 29% (11% YoY growth)Huntsville, Ala.: 28% (18% YoY growth)Washington: 27% (12% YoY growth)Chicago: 26% (14% YoY growth)Seattle: 26% (12% YoY growth)Austin, Texas: 25% (10% YoY growth)Des Moines, Iowa: 25% (11% YoY growth)
Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report lets you explore data on additional hiring and employment trends in the United States and offers tips on how to overcome hiring and retention challenges in the current labor market.
View the report now.
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Surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. Respondents included executives from small (20-99 employees), medium (100-999 employees) and large (1,000+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the United States.
Job postings provided by Textkernel and TalentNeuron and categorized into more than 450 job titles within Robert Half’s 2024 Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, human resources, and healthcare support professions.
