Home-Based Workforce Soars

Home-based employment grew by nearly 2 million jobs nationwide in six years, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report, and it continues to expand rapidly.

But the Buffalo area appears to be lagging behind the curve.

There were 11.3 million home-based workers across the country in 2005, compared to 9.5 million in 1999, based on the Census Bureau’s figures.

“An examination of the data shows an increasing percentage of the workforce is spending at least some time working from home,” said Alison Fields, chief of the bureau’s Journey to Work and Migration Statistics Branch.

But a separate analysis by Business First shows that only 2.9 percent of the workers in Erie and Niagara counties were based at home in 2008. The corresponding average for 298 metros across the country was 4.1 percent.

Leading the nation was Columbus, Ga., with 12.3 percent of its workers doing their jobs at home. Jacksonville, N.C., was the runner-up at 10.2 percent.

Complete figures for all 298 metros can be accessed here.

The Business First analysis shows that local men are more likely than women to have home-based employment: 3.1 percent of male workers in Erie and Niagara counties work at home, compared to 2.6 percent of women.

And the study indicates that a substantial pay gap separates traditional and home-based workers in the Buffalo area. The entire pool of workers in the two-county area had median earnings of $31,386 in 2008, compared to $27,037 for those who worked at home. (A median is a midpoint, with half of all workers earning more, and half earning less.)

The Business First analysis shows that local men are more likely than women to have home-based employment: 3.1 percent of male workers in Erie and Niagara counties work at home, compared to 2.6 percent of women.

And the study indicates that a substantial pay gap separates traditional and home-based workers in the Buffalo area. The entire pool of workers in the two-county area had median earnings of $31,386 in 2008, compared to $27,037 for those who worked at home. (A median is a midpoint, with half of all workers earning more, and half earning less.)

Source: Business Journal