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Industries with the most remote opportunities in 2022 and beyond

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As workers around the world grow more accustomed to remote work, opportunities are growing more distributed.

With employees now demanding more flexibility, companies around the world have had to reconsider their business models to attract and retain top talent. As a result, many sectors, job roles, and countries are rapidly embracing a future of remote work — but which are leading the way for 2022 and beyond?

Remote analyzed more than six million job ads on Glassdoor across the UK and US to reveal which job roles and industries currently offer the most remote career opportunities. We also analyzed the salaries offered for these remote roles to discover the most lucrative opportunities and see how wages compare to industry averages.

This study also delves into historical remote working data per country to investigate where we have seen the biggest growth in remote workers in the last few years.

The UK job roles with the most remote opportunities in 2022

Using a list of the 40 most commonly advertised job roles on Glassdoor, we analyzed the percentage of listings in the UK for each role that allowed employees to work remotely.

The table below shows the top 20 job roles in the UK that have the most remote opportunities:

Rank

Job Role

UK % of jobs that are remote

1

Web Developer

31.39%

2

Software Engineer

29.14%

3

Translator

22.98%

4

Editor

18.22%

5

Data Scientist

17.46%

6

Cyber Security

16.32%

7

Copywriter

14.81%

8

Account Manager

13.47%

9

Architect

12.38%

10

Data Analyst

11.95%

11

Project Manager

10.74%

12

Marketing

10.64%

13

Nutritionist

10.49%

14

Design

10.39%

15

Business Development

10.16%

16

Public Relations

9.76%

17

Recruiter

8.75%

18

Producer

8.70%

19

Solicitor

8.37%

20

Lawyer

8.36%

Web developers have the highest chance of finding a remote job opportunity in the UK

Our research found that web developers have the highest chance of finding a fully remote job in the UK 2022, with nearly a third of roles advertised in this job sector being remote-based.

Software engineers have the second-highest number of remote opportunities. It was reported back in January of 2022 that nearly three-quarters of software engineers would prefer to work in fully remote roles. Our research shows, as of August this year, nearly a third of employers hiring software engineers in the UK have taken this advice to heart, with an average of 29.1% of jobs for software engineers being advertised as fully remote.

Employers looking to entice software engineering talent in both the UK and US will significantly increase their talent pool by actively promoting remote and flexible working provisions as expectations from a large number of job seekers in this sector look to be favoring remote roles.

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The US job roles with the most remote opportunities in 2022

Our team also analyzed the same job roles for the percentage of listings in the US that allowed employees to work remotely.

The table below shows the top 20 job roles in the US that have the most remote opportunities:

Rank

Job Role

US % of jobs that are remote

1

Web Developer

36.93%

2

Software Engineer

36.16%

3

Data Scientist

30.50%

4

Copywriter

28.88%

5

Architect

26.75%

6

Account Manager

24.99%

7

Cyber Security

23.21%

8

Data Analyst

21.76%

9

Editor

21.29%

10

Business Development

18.35%

11

Consultant

16.97%

12

Insurance Broker

16.13%

13

Marketing

16.04%

14

Design

15.56%

15

Lawyer

12.23%

16

Project Manager

12.11%

17

Buyer

12.03%

18

Recruiter

10.89%

19

Producer

10.40%

20

Accountant

9.75%

It is interesting to note that, though translator jobs rank as the third-highest job role offered as remote in the UK (22.98%), in the US the percentage of remote roles for translators doesn’t even feature in their top 20. Just 6.47% translator jobs in the US are advertised as remote opportunities.

The top two jobs hiring remotely stay the same in both the UK and US; however, the US sees over 13% more employers hiring for remote data scientists than in the UK. According to our research, over a quarter (30.5%) of data scientist jobs are advertised as remote in the US (compared with 17.46% in the UK).

The industries rapidly embracing remote business models in the UK

Alongside the job roles with the most remote opportunities, we also investigated the overall industries that are more commonly embracing flexible business models.

This table shows the top 10 industries with the highest demand for remote workers in the UK:

Rank

Industry

The % of jobs that are remote in the UK

1

Information Technology

13.9%

2

Management & Consulting

12.7%

3

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology

10.4%

4

Media & Communication

10.4%

5

Non-profit & NGO

10.2%

6

Personal Consumer Services

9.2%

7

Insurance

8.8%

8

Telecommunications

8.7%

9

Government & Public Administration

7.7%

10

Finance

7.5%

The information technology industry is the UK’s most remote-friendly industry in 2022

When analyzing industries as a whole, our research reveals the information technology industry emerges as the most in-demand industry for remote workers. Nearly one in six information technology roles in the UK is advertised as remote. Due to its online nature, this sector has more opportunity for solely online work than other industries like hospitality or communications.

In the UK, industries such as education (5.3%) and health (1.8%) still see themselves at the lower end of the table for remote opportunities. However, remote trends have impacted these industries through different job roles such as online learning, admin, payroll, and customer service departments.

The industries rapidly embracing remote business models in the US

In the US, the management and consulting industry is the most in-demand industry for remote workers. This sector generally refers to jobs where people may be hired to help companies reach their full potential, giving strategic financial or HR advice. Though sometimes it may be necessary to have these roles based in an office, nearly 1 in 5 employers in the US seem satisfied that this type of job role can be done from anywhere in 2022.

This table shows the top 10 industries with the highest demand for remote workers in the US:

Rank

Industry

The % of jobs that are remote in the US

1

Management & Consulting

19.4%

2

Media & Communication

15.9%

3

Information Technology

15.4%

4

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology

14.0%

5

Personal Consumer Services

13.8%

6

Finance

13.3%

7

Government & Public Administration

10.4%

8%

Healthcare

9.5%

9

Telecommunications

9.4%

10

Real Estate

9.1%

Perhaps unsurprisingly, we see sectors such as the restaurant and food service industry (0.6%), as well as the hotel (1.4%) and transportation (2.7%) industries, experiencing some of the lowest remote job opportunities of all the sectors analyzed. This is due to these jobs being public-facing roles, heavily reliant on in-person interaction or involvement to get the job done.

These results would suggest employers and hiring managers in the hospitality, tourism, and transportation industries should consider modifying their recruitment policies to enable for more remote job opportunities (where roles do not require the employee to be on-site).

This could allow businesses to attract top industry talent ahead of competitors, with 76% of workers reportedly wanting the company they work for to have flexible working conditions. Remote’s recent Global Benefits Report supports this finding with 57% of workers ranking the value of flexibility as even more important than their compensation.

On average, remote jobs pay higher salaries than overall industry average wages

When analyzing remote jobs overall, the highest paying remote job in the UK is general practitioners, who are paid an average of £69,800 per year, while in the US remote lawyers are on top earning an average of $139,900 per year.

We compared the average advertised salaries for remote roles against industry averages to reveal if remote workers receive higher pay.

Remote roles can pay up to £31,000 more than industry averages in the UK

The table below ranks the top 10 job roles with the largest percentage difference in salary between remote roles and the industry average in the UK:

Rank

Job Role

Industry average salary

Average salary remote jobs

Difference in salaries

1

Real Estate

£27,169

£58,947

+£31,778

2

Architect

£31,595

£62,200

+£30,605

3

Design

£30,871

£55,143

+£24,272

4

Nutritionist

£30,206

50694

+£20,488

5

Recruiter

£28,513

£43,654

+£15,141

6

Web Developer

£33,363

£46,324

+£12,961

7

Receptionist

£20,163

£27,406

+£7,243

8

Data Analyst

£32,899

£43,385

+£10,486

9

Insurance Broker

£30,316

£39,415

+£9,099

10

Financial Advisor

£40,296

£50,542

+£10,246

In the UK, our findings show that remote-based real estate agents can earn up to a staggering £31,000 more than the average industry wage at £59,947 compared to £27,169. Architects come in second with the biggest jump in salary when going remote, with a potential increase of just over £30,000 (£30,605). Design and nutritionist roles also can see an increase in salary of over £20,000 by applying for a remote role.

Remote roles can pay over $70,000 more than industry averages in the U.S.

The table below ranks the top 10 job roles with the largest percentage difference in salary between remote roles and the industry average in the US:

Rank

Job Role

Industry average salary

Average salary remote jobs

Difference in salaries

1

Sales

$56,655

$127,458

+$70,803

2

Personal Assistant

$35,946

$73,333

+$37,387

3

Public Relations

$44,690

$86,000

+$41,310

4

Business Development

$67,341

$128,556

+$61,215

5

Account Manager

$54,864

$103,960

+$49,096

6

Consultant

$68,159

$126,667

+$58,508

7

Human Resources

$47,732

$84,471

+$36,739

8

Financial Advisor

$70,401

$117,844

+$47,443

9

Cyber Security

$67,568

$104,875

+$37,307

10

Architect

$83,493

$128,667

+$45,174

In the US, a remote job in the sales sector could see you earning over $70,803 more compared to the industry average salary. The sales sector incorporates a large variety of jobs, from a retail sales associate to someone working in tech sales. Remote working allows those working in sales to expand their reach, potentially into new territories, which is reflected in their pay.

Those working as personal assistants and in the public relations sector also see a significant salary difference in remote job salaries versus their industry average, with both seeing over $35,000 difference in salary offerings for fully remote roles. This could be partly due to many companies reducing, or even getting rid of, their office spaces, meaning they have fewer overheads and can subsequently pay their workers a higher wage.

Nadia Vatalidis, VP of People at Remote commented on what this means for employers and job seekers:

“Working remotely can provide many benefits to both companies and workers. As our research shows, one of the key benefits is the associated financial incentives. Amongst many industries, remote roles pay a significantly higher wage than the industry average."

The reasons for this vary from role to role, however, attracting and retaining top tier talent, and the significant saving of overhead costs will have a direct impact on the compensation offered by companies across the board. The savings made on rent and office space, has also led to companies offering higher pay packets to help cover the employee cost of working remotely.

As employees continue to demand remote or hybrid working and more companies are able to offer this, employers who want to attract top talent will have to consider wage rises or changes in their organization's structure in order to keep pace with their competitors.”

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The EU countries with the most remote workers in 2022 and beyond

According to our research, around 15.4% of the UK and US working population are working remotely or in a hybrid role in 2022 — but is this the average elsewhere in the world?

We have analyzed the percentage of the working population working from home around Europe to find out. The table below ranks the top 10 countries with the highest share of remote workers in the European Union this year.

Rank

Country

2020

2021

2022

1

Netherlands

42.7%

57.6%

64.6%

2

Luxembourg

47.8%

45.4%

54.4%

3

Sweden

42.8%

47.3%

51.8%

4

Ireland

32.6%

40.6%

51.5%

5

Belgium

33.9%

40.3%

48.4%

6

Finland

40.4%

42.2%

48.0%

7

Denmark

36.9%

37.7%

42.6%

8

France

29.8%

34.8%

40.9%

9

Malta

26.0%

29.7%

40.4%

10

Austria

29.8%

29.0%

33.6%

65% of the working population in the Netherlands work remotely

Our research shows that the UK and US have much fewer hybrid-remote workers than many countries in Europe, with 30% of the EU working population working from home in 2022 (either hybrid or fully remote).

The Netherlands have nearly 50% more of their population working remotely than the UK/US do - the country has even recently made changes to legislation around remote work, meaning Dutch companies are legally required to give ‘careful consideration’ to requests for remote work.

For companies looking to expand internationally or globally, The Netherlands could be a good option to start with, as companies can potentially avoid the large costs of investing in an office space here due to the efficient remote working culture.

The Netherlands are not alone in their increasingly popular hybrid-remote model of working. We found that Luxembourg, Sweden and Ireland see over 50% of their working population working from home at least some of their working week, if not permanently.

Interestingly, Germany just misses a spot in the top 10, coming in 11th place in the EU rankings. Whilst still higher than the EU average of just under 30%, in Germany 32% of workers are in remote roles - half of the remote working population percentage in the Netherlands.

For a country with such an advanced tech sector and a large population of highly skilled workers, this is surprising and could mean employers in Germany are missing out on top talent that are actively seeking remote working opportunities.

Forward-thinking companies that are open to hiring remote international talent could find a rich pool of skilled professionals in Germany who may be prepared to leave their existing roles for more flexible working conditions.

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