Remote Work Holds Near 22% of U.S. Workforce Through Early 2026 as Youth Unemployment Research Raises Concerns

Nearly 22% of U.S. workers performed at least part of their jobs from home in 2025, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis analysis of Census Bureau Current Population Survey data. The share fell one percentage point from 2024.

The combined rate of hybrid and fully remote work stood at 22.3% in January 2026 and 22% in February. Workers who spent at least 10% of their workweek at home accounted for a quarter of the labor force in 2025. Average weekly remote hours edged down from 27 at the start of 2025 to 26 a year later.

Surveys by workplace research firm Leesman of 100 to 130 large companies found that only about 3% require employees to be in the office five days a week. Kyle de Bruin, managing director at Leesman, said the data contradict the impression created by high-profile return-to-office mandates.

“The noise you hear in the industry about the JPMorgans and the other big banks that are fully back, they are actually a minority,” de Bruin said.

Amazon directed employees to return to offices five days a week in 2025. De Bruin noted that many firms struggle to sustain such policies because employees question the necessity of daily office attendance. “The why is not clear, and people know that they can feel it in their bones when they go into an office, and it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Research released in June 2026 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York linked remote work to a possible 64% increase in youth unemployment, attributing the effect to companies favoring senior hires over entry-level roles when using remote arrangements.

Some employers view expanded remote options as a competitive edge. Deborah Saneman, CEO of payroll and HR software firm Würk, said the company replaced its 15,000-square-foot Denver office with a 600-square-foot WeWork space three years ago.