Finding a remote job is getting harder, especially if you want a high-earning job

Finding a remote job isn’t as easy as it once was.

Christopher Foose, 42, said he’s been searching for a position in information technology since 2018. But he said the options in his hometown of Keaau, Hawaii, are slim, and he’s been hoping to find a job elsewhere that will allow him to work from home.

But with remote jobs in high demand, Foose is dealing with a lot of competition. He said there was a period early last year when he was sending out roughly 50 applications per week and rarely heard back. In one interview, he said the recruiter told him he was one of 5,000 applicants.

“It just feels really futile,” he said. “When I apply for a job online, I'm competing with the world. … It was overwhelming.”

While experts say work-from-home is here to stay, research shows that there has been a dip in remote and hybrid job postings since pandemic-era highs. Data from job search site Indeed published last month shows that the share of job postings advertising remote or hybrid work options fell from a peak of 10.3% in February 2022 to 8.3% as of November.

This dip is especially prevalent among high-paying jobs, according to a new report from career site Ladders. It found six-figure hybrid job postings dropped 69% at the end of 2023 from the previous quarter, while six-figure remote jobs slipped 12%. The findings are based on an analysis of nearly a half-million job postings on the site between October and December. (The company did not have the data available for a year-over-year comparison.)

“It appears that companies that were previously offering hybrid roles are now increasingly posting in-office positions, especially for jobs paying over $200,000,” John Mullinix, director of growth marketing at Ladders, said in an emailed statement. 

Jobs that pay more have driven the increased demand for in-person roles because “companies want their highest earners in the office for collaboration and leadership,” he said in a separate media release.

The state of remote work today

Ladders’ report found a dip in high-paying hybrid job postings across all sectors, but the decline was especially prevalent in health care, where the share of hybrid jobs among postings fell to 3.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 11.2% in the third quarter.

Overall work-from-home numbers have dropped from their peak in the spring of 2020, when more than 60% of days were worked from home, to about 25% in 2023, according to data from WFH Research, a scholarly data collection project. But they held steady throughout most of last year, and experts say they may even rebound in the years to come as companies adjust to work-from-home trends.

"In my mind, it's a smarter way to do business," remote career coach Kate Smith told USA TODAY. "It makes more sense. You have happier employees, greater access to a larger talent pool, lower overhead costs."

So then why are there fewer remote jobs available now?

Indeed, the job search site, notes that it may be less about companies turning their backs on remote or hybrid work and more about the cooling labor economy, since jobs that are typically remote-friendly also posted with "far less frequency" in 2023 compared with 2022.

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How to find a remote job

While remote work availability is down, demand is skyrocketing as more companies begin to enforce return-to-office policies, according to Smith.

"It's a much more competitive job market, which really means it's important that you are effectively articulating and communicating your value," she told USA TODAY.

Smith suggests job seekers pick one type of remote role they're interested in instead of aimlessly applying.

She also suggests scheduling time every week to dedicate to the job search and to set realistic expectations.

"Being able to push through and hearing no's and rejections is part of the process," she said. "It's not personal."

Mullinix suggests setting up job alerts on various sites with remote work filters to stay updated on new opportunities.

"Remember, the early bird catches the worm," he said. "In job searching, this means applying to desired jobs as soon as they are posted."