Half of labour force in big US cities working from home

New York

IN some of America's major cities, about half the workforce is still working remotely almost nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by the US Census Bureau.

Across the US, 37 per cent of employees were teleworking between late October and early November, according to the bureau's Household Pulse Survey, which publishes insights about Americans' experiences during the pandemic. But the rates can vary widely by state and city, depending on a mix of factors such as the type of jobs, workplace polices and government restrictions.

In tech-heavy San Francisco, 56.2 per cent of people 18 years of age and older said they were doing their jobs remotely. Companies such as Alphabet Inc's Google, Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc have announced they will let employees work remotely into 2021.

In the nation's capital area, where Amazon is establishing a second headquarters, the federal government is also allowing for flexible work arrangements. About 55.6 per cent of those surveyed in Washington, DC reported they were teleworking. In other big cities, the share of adults in Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta who say they were working from home ranged from 45 per cent to 55 per cent.

The pandemic may have a lasting impact on the way Americans work. Nearly two-thirds of US employees who have been working from home during the pandemic want to keep doing so because of a personal preference or over concern about catching Covid-19 in the workplace, according to a Gallup survey between Sept 14-27. BLOOMBERG