DEED: Minnesota leads the work-from-home trend in Midwestern states
Minnesota is leading the work-from-home trend in the Midwestern States.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says the current tight labor market has made more employers open to remote work – whether a few days or 100% from home.
“A really interesting outcome of our research into remote work trends was revealing just how much more Minnesota workers are able to work from home compared to workers in neighboring states,” said Regional Analysis & Outreach Manager Cameron Macht. “This could be due to multiple factors – from industry and occupation mix in Minnesota compared to surrounding states, the tightness of our labor market pushing more employers to offer this option, and other factors.”
U.S. Census Bureau survey results from February 2023 show that almost one-quarter of Minnesota workers worked from home at least three days a week. That ranks Minnesota #9 among the 50 states at 23.5%, well ahead of the U.S. average of 20%.
The ability to work from home in Minnesota also sticks out in comparison to other Midwestern states, such as North Dakota (10%), South Dakota (12.6%), Iowa (14.5%), Nebraska (16.2%), and Wisconsin (16.7%).
“Many people are willing to change careers to ‘do anything’ just for the chance to work from home,” said Gina Meixner, a career counselor at DEED’s CareerForce office in Bloomington. “Wanting to avoid a commute, high gas prices, and needing to address a lack of childcare are the biggest draws.”
