Nonrelocatable Occupations at Increased Risk During Pandemics: United States, 2018

Abstract

Objectives. To characterize which occupations in the United States could likely work from home during a pandemic such as COVID-19.Methods. I merged 2018 US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) national employment and wage data with measures ranking the importance of computer use at work and the importance of working with or performing for the public from the BLS O*NET survey.Results. Approximately 25% (35.6 million) of US workers are employed in occupations (such as technology, administrative, financial, and engineering) that could be done from home; the remaining 75% work in occupations (including health care, manufacturing, retail, and food services) that are challenging to do from home.Conclusions. Most US workers are employed in occupations that cannot be done at home, putting 108.4 million workers at increased risk for adverse health outcomes related to working during a pandemic. These workers tend to be lower paid. The stress experienced by lower-income groups, coupled with job insecurity, could result in a large burden of mental health disorders in the United States in addition to increased cases of COVID-19 from workplace transmission.

FIGURE 1—

Relationship Between Importance of Computer Use and Interaction With the Public at Work, Defined by Median Annual Wage and Occupational Sector: United States, May 2018 Note. Workers in quadrant 1 are workers who are likely able to work from home, whereas those in quadrants 2, 3, and 4 likely would not be able to work from home. Each point on the graph is weighted by the annual median wage for the occupation and color-coded by broad occupational sector.