Remote workers: Global population

• According to Strategy Analytics, the global mobile (remote) workforce was 1.52 billion in 2017, accounting for 39.3% of the global workforce (This was the most recent estimate available). This number is expected to reach 1.88 billion in 2023, which will be around 43.3% of the global workforce.
• Based on survey findings, Owl Lab estimates that 18% of the global workforce works remotely full-time.

Other Findings

• Around 16% of companies globally are fully remote. In addition, it was found that 56% of companies around the world allow remote working options.
• Bizjournals reports that 4.3 million employees (3.2% of the workforce) in the US work remotely at least half the time.
• According to Owl Labs, 52% of employees around the world work remotely at least once per week, and 68% work remotely at least once per month.
• The industries with the most number of remote workers include healthcare (15%), technology/ internet (10%), financial services (9%), education (8%) and manufacturing (7%).
• The departments with the highest participation of remote workers include facilities/operations/IT (18%), customer support/service/success (14%), and sales (13%), and administrative (11%).
• South Americans are in the lead when it comes to working from home. South American workers are 67% more likely than the global average to work remotely full-time. The country has 81% more fully remote companies compared to the global average.