Full text of 2004 : Text File, USDL 05-1768
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Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 05-1768
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, September 22, 2005
WORK AT HOME IN 2004
In May 2004, 20.7 million persons usually did some work at home as part
of their primary job, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today. These workers, who reported working at home at
least once per week, accounted for about 15 percent of total nonagricultural
employment in May 2004, essentially the same percentage as in May 2001.
(See table A.)
These findings are from a special supplement to the May 2004 Current
Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000
households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among
the nation's civilian nonistitutional population age 16 and over. Data
on work at home were last collected in the CPS in May 2001. The May 2001
data presented in this release have been revised to be comparable with
the May 2004 estimates. For further information, see the Technical Note.
Occupation and Industry
The likelihood of working at home varies greatly by occupation. This is
not surprising, since some jobs are more readily done away from the workplace
than others. Almost 30 percent of workers in management, professional, and
related occupations reported working at home in May 2004. Nearly two-thirds
of persons who usually worked at home were employed in these occupations.
About 1 in 5 sales workers usually worked at home. In contrast, only 3 per-
cent of workers in production, transportation, and material moving occupations
performed job-related work at home. From an industry perspective, workers
employed in professional and business services, in financial activities, and
in education and health services were among the most likely to work at home
in 2004. (See table 1.)
Pay Status
Of the 13.7 million wage and salary workers who usually did some work at
home in 2004, about 3.3 million, or 1 in 4, had a formal arrangement with
their employer to be paid for the time they put in at home. About half of
these paid home workers spent 8 hours or more per week working at home, and
about 1 in 7 put in 35 hours or more per week at home. On average, those
with a formal arrangement to be paid for their work time at home logged
about 19 hours per week at home. (See tables 3 and 6.)
About three-fourths of wage and salary workers who did job-related work
at home on a regular basis did so without a formal arrangement to be paid
for this work. Of these 10.2 million workers just taking work home from
the job, about 22 percent regularly worked 8 hours or more per week at
home. Workers doing unpaid job-related activity at home averaged about
7 hours per week at home. (See tables 4 and 6.)
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Table A. Job-related work at home on primary job by selected characteristics, May 2001
and May 2004
(Percent)
Persons who usually worked at home (1)
Percent distribution by class of worker
(2)
Characteristic Percent
of total Wage and salary
employed Self-
Total employed
Paid work Unpaid (3)
at home work at
ome
May 2001 r
Total, 16 years and over......... 14.9 100.0 17.1 51.9 30.2
Men................................ 14.6 100.0 15.9 50.4 32.8
Women.............................. 15.2 100.0 18.3 53.5 27.3
White(4)........................... 16.2 100.0 17.1 51.5 30.6
Black or African American(4)....... 7.7 100.0 15.1 57.7 26.0
Asian(4)........................... 10.0 100.0 18.6 56.8 24.0
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity....... 6.6 100.0 18.5 48.8 31.4
Total, 25 years and over......... 16.7 100.0 16.9 51.7 30.5
Less than a high school diploma.... 4.2 100.0 18.2 16.4 64.3
High school graduates,
no college(5)..................... 7.9 100.0 17.9 31.5 49.5
Some college or associate degree... 12.9 100.0 19.6 36.5 42.3
Bachelor's degree and higher(6).... 32.3 100.0 15.6 63.1 20.7
May 2004
Total, 16 years and over......... 15.1 100.0 16.2 49.3 33.7
Men................................ 14.9 100.0 14.7 47.3 37.6
Women.............................. 15.4 100.0 17.8 51.4 29.4
White(4)........................... 16.3 100.0 16.4 49.0 33.8
Black or African American(4)....... 7.9 100.0 14.2 53.0 31.0
Asian(4)........................... 12.7 100.0 14.2 52.1 33.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity....... 7.1 100.0 19.1 45.0 34.4
Total, 25 years and over......... 17.0 100.0 16.0 49.1 34.0
Less than a high school diploma.... 4.9 100.0 15.7 24.0 58.9
High school graduates,
no college(5)..................... 7.6 100.0 15.4 28.7 54.0
Some college or associate degree... 13.7 100.0 19.4 32.8 46.7
Bachelor's degree and higher(6).... 31.6 100.0 15.0 60.5 24.1
1 Persons who usually work at home are defined as those who work at home at least
once per week as part their primary job.
2 Unpaid family workers and wage and salary workers who did not report pay status
are included in the total but are not shown separately.
3 Includes both the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed.
4 Beginning in 2003, includes persons who selected this race group only; persons
who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons
who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified
as their main race. Asian data for 2001 include Pacific Islanders.
5 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
6 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
r = revised. Data for May 2001 have been revised to incorporate population controls
from Census 2000 and new industry and occupational classifications. See the Technical
Note for additional information.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries who reported that
they usually work at home at least once per week as part of their primary job. Esti-
mates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not
sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose
ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are
classified by ethnicity as well as by race.
- 3 -
Among those with a formal arrangement to be paid for work at home, more
than half worked in management and professional jobs, and another 1 in 5
worked in sales occupations. Managers and professionals accounted for
about four-fifths of those just taking work home from the job. School-
teachers and instructors (excluding college) especially were likely
to take work home, with 2.8 million--or about half of all teachers--
reporting such activity in the May 2004 survey. About 1 in 10 persons
who put in time at home without a formal arrangement worked in sales jobs.
(See tables 1, 3, and 4.)
Self-Employed Persons and Home-Based Businesses
About one-third of persons who usually worked at home in May 2004 were
self-employed. Of the 7.0 million self-employed persons who worked at
home, two-thirds had a home-based business--that is, a business run from
their home and no other location. Nearly half of self-employed persons
with a home-based business worked at least 8 hours per week at home, and
almost 22 percent put in 35 hours or more at home. On average, self-
employed persons with a home-based business worked 25 hours per week at
home. (See tables 1 and 5.)
About 45 percent of self-employed persons with home-based businesses
were in management, professional, and related occupations in May 2004.
Sixteen percent were employed in sales and related occupations. On an
industry basis, about 1 in 4 self-employed persons with a home-based
business worked in professional and business services. Some 18 percent
of persons with a home-based business were employed in the construction
industry. (See table 5.)
Demographics
Women and men were about equally likely to work at home in 2004, at
about 15 percent each. Whites (16 percent) were twice as likely as blacks
(8 percent) and Hispanics or Latinos (7 percent) to work at home, reflect-
ing, at least in part, the relatively higher concentration of whites in
occupations that are associated with work at home. Nearly 13 percent of
Asians worked at home in 2004. The work-at-home rate for parents was
slightly higher than for persons without children. Married persons were
more likely to work at home than their non-married counterparts. (See
tables 1 and 2.)
The likelihood of working at home increased with educational attainment.
Employed persons 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher were
more than 6 times more likely to work at home as those without a high
school diploma (32 and 5 percent, respectively). Much of this disparity
is due to the varying occupational patterns of workers with different
levels of education. For example, college graduates are much more likely
to be employed in managerial and professional occupations--which have a
greater work-at-home rate--than are high school dropouts. (See table 1.)
Reason for Job-Related Work at Home
Among wage and salary workers who were taking work home without a formal
arrangement to be paid for that work, the most common reason for working at
home was to "finish or catch up on work" (56 percent). An additional 32 per-
cent reported that they worked at home at least once per week because it
was the "nature of the job." For those paid to work at home as part of a
formal arrangement with their employer, the reasons were more varied. For
example, 40 percent reported it was the "nature of the job," 24 percent
indicated that "business is conducted from home," 13 percent worked at home
to "finish or catch up on work," and 9 percent arranged to work at home to
"coordinate work schedule with personal or family needs." Almost half of
all self-employed workers--and more than 60 percent of those with home-
based businesses--indicated the main reason for working at home was because
their "business is conducted from home." An additional 24 percent of self-
employed persons responded that it was the "nature of the job" to work at
home. (See table 7.)
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Use of Electronic Equipment
About 8 in 10 of those engaged in job-related work at home in May 2004
used a computer as part of their work at home, and just slightly fewer used
a telephone. About 70 percent of all persons who usually worked at home
made use of the Internet or e-mail to work at home. In general, wage and
salary workers who were paid to work at home as part of a formal arrange-
ment were more likely to use electronic equipment at home than those who
were just taking work home from the job. (See table 6.)
Frequency of Work at Home
The focus of this report is the 20.7 million persons who reported in May
2004 that they worked at home at least once per week. The total number of
persons who reported that they worked at home in the May 2004 survey--
regardless of how often they engaged in home-based work activity--was 25.4
million (18.6 percent of total nonagricultural employment). This includes,
in addition to those who usually worked at home, 1.9 million persons who
worked at home at least once every 2 weeks, 1.6 million who worked at home
at least once per month, and about 880,000 who worked at home less than
once per month. While the total number of persons who reported some work
at home in the May 2004 survey was about the same as in May 2001, the share
working at home at least once per week (81 percent in May 2004) edged up
somewhat. (See table 8.)
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Technical Note
These data and other information on work at home were obtained from a
supplement to the May 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is
a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households conducted by the U.S.
Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), principally to
gather information on employment and unemployment for the nation. Respon-
dents to the May 2004 supplement answered questions about work schedules,
job-related work at home, and other related topics. The data in this
release pertain to workers who did some job-related work at home on their
primary job in nonagricultural industries.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there
is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population
values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies de-
pending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured
by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance,
or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by
no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because
of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent
level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct infor-
mation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and infor-
mation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates
of Error" section of Employment and Earnings.
Concepts
The principal concepts used in connection with the work-at-home data are
described briefly below.
Work at home. Respondents were asked whether they do any of their
work at home as part of their primary job in nonagricultural industries.
Persons who worked at home at least once a week--referred to as those who
usually worked at home--are the focus of this report. Wage and salary
workers who worked at home were asked if they have a formal arrangement
with their employer to be paid for the work that they do at home, or if
they were just taking work home from the job.
Home-based business. Self-employed persons who usually worked at
home and whose business is run from home and no other location are
considered to have a home-based business. This includes all self-employed
persons in nonagricultural industries, whether or not their business is
incorporated who reported that they usually worked at home at least once
per week as part of their primary job.
- 6 -
Data discussed in this release on job-related work at home were obtained
from the following questions:
As part of this job, do you do any of your work at home?
1. Yes
2. No
(Wage and salary workers only) Do you have a formal arrangement with your
employer to be paid for the work that you do at home, or were you just
taking work home from the job?
1. Paid
2. Taking work home
(Self-employed only) Do you run your business from home or some other
location?
1. Home
2. Some other location
3. Both
How frequently do you work at home? (Interviewer reads all.)
1. At least once a week
2. At least once every two weeks
3. At least once a month
4. Less than once a month
When you work at home, how many hours per week do you work at home for this
job?
1. Hours: ___
2. It varies
Do you use any of the following equipment at home to do your work?
(Interviewer reads all.)
1. Computer, including laptop
2. E-mail or Internet access
3. Fax
4. Telephone, cell phone, or pager
5. Some other electronic or communication equipment
What is the main reason why you work at home? (Interviewer reads all.)
1. Finish or catch up on work
2. Business is conducted from home
3. Nature of the job
4. Coordinate work schedule with personal or family needs
5. Reduce commuting time or expense
6. Local transportation or pollution control program
7. Some other reason
Special notes on May 2004 work-at-home data
This release focuses on persons who worked at home at least once per
week on their primary job in nonagricultural industries. This group--
referred to as those who usually worked at home--totaled 20.7 million in
May 2004 and accounted for about four-fifths of all persons who responded
that they did job-related work at home. When persons who worked at home
less frequently are included (that is, at least once every 2 weeks, once
per month, or less than once per month), a total of 25.4 million workers
engaged in work at home to some degree in May 2004. Unpublished tabula-
tions of May 2004 data for all workers--not restricted by frequency of
work at home--are available upon request.
- 7 -
Historical comparability
Data in this release for May 2004 and May 2001 are not strictly com-
parable with earlier data on work at home. The May 2001 data in this
release have been revised to incorporate population controls from Census
2000. The revised data also reflect new industry and occupational classi-
fications, which affect the class of worker status--that is, the classifi-
cation of workers as either self-employed or wage and salary workers.
These changes affect comparability with 2001 estimates as originally pub-
lished in "Work at Home in 2001" (USDL 02-107, March 1, 2002). In addition,
changes in the wording of questions in 2001 affected comparability with data
collected in previous surveys. For a fuller discussion of these changes,
see the Technical Note of "Work at Home in 2001."
Table 1. Job-related work at home on primary job by sex, occupation, industry, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, educational
attainment, class of worker, and pay status, May 2004
(Numbers in thousands)
Persons who usually worked at home (2)
Percent distribution by class of worker
(3)
Total
Characteristic employed Percent
(1) Total of total Wage and salary
employed Self-
Total employed
Paid work Unpaid (4)
at home work at
home
Total, 16 years and over............................. 136,602 20,673 15.1 100.0 16.2 49.3 33.7
Men.................................................... 72,417 10,780 14.9 100.0 14.7 47.3 37.6
Women.................................................. 64,185 9,893 15.4 100.0 17.8 51.4 29.4
Occupation
Management, professional, and related occupations...... 47,829 13,445 28.1 100.0 13.9 59.9 25.7
Management, business, and financial operations
occupations........................................ 19,205 5,602 29.2 100.0 16.2 46.6 36.9
Professional and related occupations................. 28,623 7,842 27.4 100.0 12.2 69.5 17.7
Service occupations.................................... 22,752 1,414 6.2 100.0 20.6 20.9 54.8
Sales and office occupations........................... 35,133 4,291 12.2 100.0 24.1 36.1 38.6
Sales and related occupations........................ 15,886 3,137 19.7 100.0 21.8 35.4 42.2
Office and administrative support occupations........ 19,247 1,154 6.0 100.0 30.5 38.0 28.9
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations......................................... 13,111 1,036 7.9 100.0 10.2 15.1 73.8
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........... 195 3 1.5 100.0 (5) (5) (5)
Construction and extraction occupations.............. 7,927 705 8.9 100.0 6.1 13.3 80.6
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.... 4,989 329 6.6 100.0 18.4 19.1 59.6
Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations......................................... 17,777 488 2.7 100.0 10.6 26.6 62.8
Production occupations............................... 9,240 276 3.0 100.0 12.8 22.1 65.0
Transportation and material moving occupations....... 8,538 212 2.5 100.0 7.7 32.5 59.8
Industry
Mining................................................. 491 44 9.0 100.0 (5) (5) (5)
Construction........................................... 10,316 1,491 14.5 100.0 7.1 19.4 72.8
Manufacturing.......................................... 16,626 1,488 8.9 100.0 26.3 55.3 18.2
Wholesale and retail trade............................. 20,766 2,416 11.6 100.0 21.1 36.2 41.8
Transportation and utilities........................... 6,845 459 6.7 100.0 14.7 43.7 39.5
Information............................................ 3,520 638 18.1 100.0 30.0 41.6 28.4
Financial activities................................... 9,874 2,210 22.4 100.0 21.3 39.9 38.4
Professional and business services..................... 13,905 3,401 24.5 100.0 17.6 33.2 48.8
Education and health services.......................... 29,290 6,189 21.1 100.0 9.2 76.0 14.3
Leisure and hospitality................................ 12,078 731 6.0 100.0 10.7 27.5 61.8
Other services......................................... 6,971 1,113 16.0 100.0 18.4 41.0 33.7
Public administration.................................. 5,918 493 8.3 100.0 31.4 67.6 -
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White.................................................. 111,756 18,255 16.3 100.0 16.4 49.0 33.8
Black or African American.............................. 15,800 1,245 7.9 100.0 14.2 53.0 31.0
Asian.................................................. 5,630 718 12.7 100.0 14.2 52.1 33.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity........................... 17,577 1,255 7.1 100.0 19.1 45.0 34.4
Educational attainment
Total, 25 years and over............................. 117,610 20,024 17.0 100.0 16.0 49.1 34.0
Less than a high school diploma........................ 10,979 539 4.9 100.0 15.7 24.0 58.9
High school graduates, no college (6).................. 34,760 2,631 7.6 100.0 15.4 28.7 54.0
Some college or associate degree....................... 32,772 4,482 13.7 100.0 19.4 32.8 46.7
Bachelor's degree and higher (7)....................... 39,099 12,372 31.6 100.0 15.0 60.5 24.1
1 Includes persons who did not provide information on work at home.
2 Persons who usually work at home are defined as those who work at home at least once per week as part of their primary job.
3 Unpaid family workers and wage and salary workers who did not report pay status are included in the total but are not shown
separately.
4 Includes both the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed.
5 Data not shown where the base is less than 75,000.
6 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
7 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries. Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or
African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose
ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by
race. Dash represents or rounds to zero.
Table 2. Job-related work at home on primary job by sex, marital status, presence and age of children, class of
worker, and pay status, May 2004
(Numbers in thousands)
Persons who usually worked at home (2)
Percent distribution by class of worker
(3)
Total
Characteristic employed Percent
(1) Total of total Wage and salary
employed Self-
Total employed
Paid work Unpaid (4)
at home work at
home
Total, 16 years and over................ 136,602 20,673 15.1 100.0 16.2 49.3 33.7
Married, spouse present............... 77,243 14,623 18.9 100.0 16.4 48.1 34.6
Not married........................... 59,359 6,050 10.2 100.0 15.7 52.2 31.5
Never married....................... 36,857 3,087 8.4 100.0 17.7 58.1 23.2
Other marital status................ 22,502 2,963 13.2 100.0 13.6 46.1 40.2
Without own children under 18......... 86,591 12,090 14.0 100.0 15.4 50.5 33.4
With own children under 18............ 50,011 8,584 17.2 100.0 17.4 47.5 34.0
With youngest child 6 to 17......... 28,638 4,985 17.4 100.0 16.0 47.8 34.9
With youngest child under 6......... 21,373 3,599 16.8 100.0 19.2 47.3 32.8
Men, 16 years and over.................. 72,417 10,780 14.9 100.0 14.7 47.3 37.6
Married, spouse present............... 43,493 8,114 18.7 100.0 15.0 47.5 37.1
Not married........................... 28,924 2,666 9.2 100.0 13.9 46.8 39.1
Never married....................... 20,104 1,565 7.8 100.0 16.2 50.3 33.3
Other marital status................ 8,820 1,101 12.5 100.0 10.5 41.8 47.4
Without own children under 18......... 46,514 6,247 13.4 100.0 14.5 46.5 38.6
With own children under 18............ 25,903 4,533 17.5 100.0 15.1 48.4 36.3
With youngest child 6 to 17......... 13,861 2,547 18.4 100.0 14.5 46.3 38.8
With youngest child under 6......... 12,042 1,986 16.5 100.0 15.8 51.0 33.0
Women, 16 years and over................ 64,185 9,893 15.4 100.0 17.8 51.4 29.4
Married, spouse present............... 33,750 6,509 19.3 100.0 18.2 48.8 31.4
Not married........................... 30,435 3,384 11.1 100.0 17.1 56.5 25.5
Never married....................... 16,754 1,522 9.1 100.0 19.2 66.2 12.7
Other marital status................ 13,681 1,862 13.6 100.0 15.3 48.6 35.9
Without own children under 18......... 40,077 5,842 14.6 100.0 16.3 54.8 27.9
With own children under 18............ 24,108 4,051 16.8 100.0 19.9 46.6 31.5
With youngest child 6 to 17......... 14,777 2,438 16.5 100.0 17.7 49.3 30.8
With youngest child under 6......... 9,331 1,614 17.3 100.0 23.4 42.6 32.6
1 Includes persons who did not provide information on work at home.
2 Persons who usually work at home are defined as those who work at home at least once per week as part of
their primary job.
3 Unpaid family workers and wage and salary workers who did not report pay status are included in the total
but are not shown separately.
4 Includes both the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries. Children are own children and include
sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and
other related and unrelated children.
Table 3. Hours of paid job-related work at home on primary job among wage and salary workers by selected characteristics,
May 2004
(Numbers in thousands)
Percent distribution by hours worked at home (2)
Mean
Paid work weekly
Characteristic at home 8 hours or more hours
(1) Hours Less than usually
Total vary 8 hours worked at
Total 35 hours home
or more
Total, 16 years and over............................. 3,349 100.0 29.0 21.1 49.5 14.8 18.6
Men.................................................... 1,589 100.0 30.0 22.2 47.2 14.7 18.3
Women.................................................. 1,760 100.0 28.0 20.0 51.6 14.8 18.9
Occupation
Management, professional, and related occupations...... 1,866 100.0 27.8 23.0 48.7 12.2 16.5
Management, business, and financial operations
occupations........................................ 908 100.0 25.9 19.2 54.5 15.9 18.8
Professional and related occupations................. 958 100.0 29.7 26.6 43.2 8.7 14.3
Service occupations.................................... 292 100.0 27.8 13.0 58.4 29.3 28.2
Sales and office occupations........................... 1,035 100.0 31.6 16.7 51.4 16.0 20.8
Sales and related occupations........................ 682 100.0 33.9 14.2 51.6 17.4 22.4
Office and administrative support occupations........ 352 100.0 27.3 21.5 51.2 13.3 18.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations......................................... 105 100.0 31.3 44.1 24.7 4.1 8.8
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........... 2 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Construction and extraction occupations.............. 43 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.... 60 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations......................................... 52 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Production occupations............................... 35 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Transportation and material moving occupations....... 16 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Industry
Mining................................................. 6 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Construction........................................... 106 100.0 21.1 27.7 51.1 7.9 13.7
Manufacturing.......................................... 391 100.0 20.6 23.2 56.2 11.8 16.2
Wholesale and retail trade............................. 511 100.0 33.4 17.8 48.8 12.8 19.0
Transportation and utilities........................... 68 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Information............................................ 191 100.0 27.9 22.6 49.5 17.0 19.5
Financial activities................................... 471 100.0 37.7 11.0 49.8 16.0 22.2
Professional and business services..................... 598 100.0 26.4 18.4 54.5 22.2 21.8
Education and health services.......................... 571 100.0 23.0 29.7 47.2 13.8 17.7
Leisure and hospitality................................ 78 100.0 12.9 18.5 68.6 19.6 18.2
Other services......................................... 205 100.0 41.1 22.6 35.1 11.4 16.4
Public administration.................................. 155 100.0 39.0 23.8 37.2 2.3 11.7
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White.................................................. 2,999 100.0 28.1 20.9 50.8 15.3 19.0
Black or African American.............................. 176 100.0 36.8 33.6 29.6 5.4 11.7
Asian.................................................. 102 100.0 32.5 3.5 58.9 18.6 22.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity........................... 240 100.0 32.7 12.6 54.7 16.9 21.1
Educational attainment
Total, 25 years and over............................. 3,214 100.0 29.2 20.5 49.9 15.0 18.9
Less than a high school diploma........................ 85 100.0 12.1 19.8 67.1 35.6 26.7
High school graduates, no college (4).................. 405 100.0 35.4 16.7 47.6 16.3 20.2
Some college or associate degree....................... 870 100.0 28.2 25.5 46.2 14.9 17.9
Bachelor's degree and higher (5)....................... 1,854 100.0 29.1 19.0 51.3 13.8 18.7
1 Includes persons who worked at home at least once per week but did not report the number of hours usually worked.
2 Persons who did not report the number of hours worked are included in the total but are not shown separately.
3 Data not shown where the base is less than 75,000.
4 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
5 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries who reported that they usually work at home at least
once per week as part of their primary job and exclude the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed. Estimates for the
above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all
races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are
classified by ethnicity as well as by race.
Table 4. Hours of unpaid job-related work at home on primary job among wage and salary workers by selected characteristics,
May 2004
(Numbers in thousands)
Percent distribution by hours worked at home (2)
Mean
Unpaid weekly
Characteristic work at 8 hours or more hours
home (1) Hours Less than usually
Total vary 8 hours worked at
Total 35 hours home
or more
Total, 16 years and over............................. 10,189 100.0 29.6 47.8 21.9 .9 6.8
Men.................................................... 5,099 100.0 31.6 45.8 21.8 .8 6.9
Women.................................................. 5,090 100.0 27.6 49.7 22.1 1.1 6.8
Occupation
Management, professional, and related occupations...... 8,058 100.0 28.7 48.6 22.0 .8 6.8
Management, business, and financial operations
occupations........................................ 2,608 100.0 30.9 51.2 17.4 .9 6.3
Professional and related occupations................. 5,450 100.0 27.6 47.4 24.2 .7 7.0
Service occupations.................................... 295 100.0 35.6 51.2 13.2 3.3 6.8
Sales and office occupations........................... 1,549 100.0 32.9 40.9 25.3 1.3 7.5
Sales and related occupations........................ 1,110 100.0 33.6 35.1 30.1 1.4 8.5
Office and administrative support occupations........ 438 100.0 30.9 55.7 13.1 1.2 5.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations......................................... 157 100.0 36.6 47.9 15.5 .4 5.8
Construction and extraction occupations.............. 94 100.0 32.9 55.0 12.2 - 4.5
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.... 63 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations......................................... 130 100.0 28.4 66.4 5.2 - 3.3
Production occupations............................... 61 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Transportation and material moving occupations....... 69 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Industry
Mining................................................. 28 100.0 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Construction........................................... 290 100.0 23.8 61.6 14.6 .1 4.8
Manufacturing.......................................... 822 100.0 28.5 53.3 16.8 .7 6.2
Wholesale and retail trade............................. 876 100.0 29.6 45.2 24.0 1.3 7.0
Transportation and utilities........................... 201 100.0 37.3 54.4 8.3 - 4.2
Information............................................ 266 100.0 29.0 38.6 32.3 2.0 8.3
Financial activities................................... 881 100.0 36.9 38.2 24.1 1.3 8.1
Professional and business services..................... 1,130 100.0 33.9 44.3 21.8 1.1 7.2
Education and health services.......................... 4,706 100.0 25.3 49.4 24.7 .6 6.8
Leisure and hospitality................................ 201 100.0 30.9 55.1 14.0 .6 5.5
Other services......................................... 457 100.0 48.5 36.4 14.3 2.5 8.7
Public administration.................................. 333 100.0 32.2 58.7 7.3 1.2 5.0
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White.................................................. 8,952 100.0 28.8 48.3 22.1 .7 6.7
Black or African American.............................. 660 100.0 43.2 41.1 15.5 .8 6.3
Asian.................................................. 374 100.0 27.0 44.5 27.6 2.5 8.4
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity........................... 564 100.0 23.0 59.0 17.6 1.9 6.5
Educational attainment
Total, 25 years and over............................. 9,836 100.0 29.8 47.3 22.2 1.0 6.9
Less than a high school diploma........................ 130 100.0 45.7 49.0 5.3 - 4.9
High school graduates, no college (4).................. 756 100.0 36.6 49.2 13.9 1.4 5.7
Some college or associate degree....................... 1,471 100.0 31.5 49.9 18.0 .8 6.3
Bachelor's degree and higher (5)....................... 7,479 100.0 28.5 46.6 24.2 1.0 7.2
1 Includes persons who worked at home at least once per week but did not report the number of hours usually worked.
2 Persons who did not report the number of hours worked are included in the total but are not shown separately.
3 Data not shown where the base is less than 75,000.
4 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
5 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries who reported that they usually work at home at least
once per week as part of their primary job and exclude the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed. Estimates for the
above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all
races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are
classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Dash represents or rounds to zero.
Table 5. Self-employed persons with home-based businesses by selected characteristics, May 2004
(Numbers in thousands)
Self-employed persons with home-based businesses (2)
Self- Percent distribution by hours worked at home
employed Percent of (3) Mean
Characteristic persons self-employ- weekly
who ed who hours
worked at Total worked at 8 hours or more usually
home (1) home with a Hours Less than worked at
home-based Total vary 8 hours home
business Total 35 hours
or more
Total, 16 years and over........................ 6,960 4,627 66.5 100.0 37.7 13.3 48.7 22.3 25.4
Men............................................... 4,056 2,471 60.9 100.0 38.3 16.7 44.6 18.9 22.7
Women............................................. 2,904 2,156 74.2 100.0 37.1 9.4 53.5 26.2 28.3
Occupation
Management, professional, and related
occupations.................................... 3,458 2,103 60.8 100.0 38.5 9.9 51.3 23.8 26.6
Management, business, and financial operations
occupations................................... 2,067 1,289 62.3 100.0 39.7 9.7 50.3 23.3 25.6
Professional and related occupations............ 1,390 814 58.6 100.0 36.6 10.0 53.0 24.5 28.0
Service occupations............................... 774 662 85.4 100.0 23.2 9.4 67.3 44.3 34.4
Sales and office occupations...................... 1,657 990 59.8 100.0 41.4 12.5 46.0 16.1 23.0
Sales and related occupations................... 1,323 725 54.8 100.0 43.6 11.3 44.9 15.3 23.3
Office and administrative support occupations... 334 265 79.2 100.0 35.4 15.5 49.2 18.3 22.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations.................................... 765 620 81.0 100.0 43.0 27.8 28.5 5.3 12.8
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations...... 1 1 (4) 100.0 (4) (4) (4) (4) 20.0
Construction and extraction occupations......... 568 481 84.6 100.0 42.8 31.6 24.8 3.0 9.8
Installation, maintenance, and repair
occupations.................................... 196 138 70.6 100.0 43.9 14.8 41.2 13.2 23.2
Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations.................................... 306 253 82.4 100.0 41.9 19.7 38.4 19.5 22.3
Production occupations.......................... 180 151 84.0 100.0 38.5 13.5 48.0 26.5 28.2
Transportation and material moving
occupations.................................... 127 102 80.2 100.0 47.0 28.8 24.2 9.2 12.1
Industry
Mining............................................ 11 6 (4) 100.0 (4) (4) (4) (4) 9.2
Construction...................................... 1,086 843 77.6 100.0 40.9 27.1 31.5 5.1 12.2
Manufacturing..................................... 271 182 67.0 100.0 28.5 9.3 62.2 38.6 31.6
Wholesale and retail trade........................ 1,011 585 57.9 100.0 46.4 11.6 42.0 14.9 23.9
Transportation and utilities...................... 181 124 68.3 100.0 42.6 28.9 28.5 15.4 15.1
Information....................................... 181 136 74.9 100.0 30.7 6.6 62.7 37.8 32.1
Financial activities.............................. 848 443 52.2 100.0 39.5 7.9 52.2 22.4 26.5
Professional and business services................ 1,658 1,182 71.3 100.0 41.7 10.2 47.8 23.2 26.6
Education and health services..................... 885 585 66.0 100.0 20.5 9.0 70.1 49.4 35.5
Leisure and hospitality........................... 452 288 63.8 100.0 39.3 5.5 54.9 20.3 29.0
Other services.................................... 375 255 68.0 100.0 32.4 12.6 55.0 16.6 24.3
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White............................................. 6,163 4,147 67.3 100.0 37.4 14.0 48.4 21.7 24.8
Black or African American......................... 386 255 65.9 100.0 43.9 1.0 54.1 30.8 34.6
Asian............................................. 242 97 40.3 100.0 26.3 19.9 53.8 25.6 24.2
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...................... 431 307 71.1 100.0 45.4 13.7 40.9 24.3 26.3
Educational attainment
Total, 25 years and over........................ 6,815 4,499 66.0 100.0 37.6 13.4 48.8 22.4 25.4
Less than a high school diploma................... 318 275 86.6 100.0 43.7 12.6 43.8 22.2 28.3
High school graduates, no college (5)............. 1,420 1,087 76.6 100.0 36.2 19.5 43.9 22.2 23.3
Some college or associate degree.................. 2,092 1,434 68.5 100.0 39.2 10.9 49.6 20.7 25.8
Bachelor's degree and higher (6).................. 2,985 1,703 57.0 100.0 36.0 11.7 52.0 24.1 25.9
1 Includes persons who worked at home at least once per week but did not report the number of hours usually worked.
2 Refers to self-employed persons who worked at home and reported that they ran their business from home and no other location.
3 Persons who did not report the number of hours worked are included in the total but are not shown separately.
4 Data not shown where the base is less than 75,000.
5 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
6 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Data refer to self-employed persons, regardless of whether their business is incorporated, in nonagricultural industries who
reported that they usually work at home at least once per week as part of their primary job. Estimates for the above race groups (white,
black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose
ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.
Table 6. Job-related work at home on primary job by usage of electronic equipment at home, sex, class
of worker, and pay status, May 2004
Percent of workers using electronic equipment for
Worked at work
Characteristic home (1)(in
thousands)
Computer Internet Fax Telephone Other
or e-mail
Total, 16 years and over.............. 20,673 80.6 69.6 43.1 78.0 6.6
Men..................................... 10,780 82.9 73.0 48.6 83.4 7.7
Women................................... 9,893 78.1 65.8 37.1 72.1 5.5
Class of worker and pay status (2)
Wage and salary workers (3)............. 13,678 83.0 71.5 35.0 73.4 6.5
Paid work at home..................... 3,349 84.8 78.3 55.3 84.6 10.2
Unpaid work at home................... 10,189 82.8 69.6 28.3 69.7 5.3
Self-employed (4)....................... 6,960 76.0 65.8 58.9 87.0 6.9
With a home-based business (5)........ 4,627 74.0 63.2 58.9 86.9 6.6
1 Includes persons who worked at home at least once per week. This total includes persons who did
not report usage of electronic equipment.
2 Excludes unpaid family workers, not shown separately.
3 Includes persons who worked at home but did not report pay status.
4 Includes both the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed.
5 Refers to self-employed persons who worked at home and reported that they ran their business from
home and no other location.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries who reported that they usually
work at home at least once per week as part of their primary job. The sum of workers using electronic
equipment at home exceeds the total number who worked at home because many of these workers used more
than one type of equipment. "Other" electronic equipment includes scanners and other types of
computer-related peripheral equipment.
Table 7. Job-related work at home on primary job by reason for working at home, sex, class of worker, and pay status,
May 2004
Reason for working at home (percent)
Worked at Coordi-
home nate Local
Characteristic (1)(in Business work Reduce transpor-
thousand- Finish or is Nature of schedule commuting tation or Some
s) catch up conducted the job with time or pollution other
on work from home personal expense control reason
or family program
needs
Total, 16 years and over.............. 20,673 35.5 21.0 30.8 5.4 1.6 .1 5.2
Men..................................... 10,780 35.4 21.7 31.4 3.6 1.7 .1 5.5
Women................................... 9,893 35.6 20.3 30.2 7.3 1.5 - 4.8
Class of worker and pay status (2)
Wage and salary workers (3)............. 13,678 44.9 8.2 34.3 4.8 2.0 .1 5.3
Paid work at home..................... 3,349 13.0 23.5 40.4 9.3 5.2 .2 7.7
Unpaid work at home................... 10,189 55.8 2.7 32.3 3.4 1.0 - 4.5
Self-employed (4)....................... 6,960 17.2 46.3 23.8 6.5 .7 .1 4.9
With a home-based business (5)........ 4,627 4.7 63.8 21.1 5.1 .6 .1 4.0
1 Persons who worked at home at least once per week. This total includes persons who did not report a reason for
working at home.
2 Excludes unpaid family workers, not shown separately.
3 Includes persons who worked at home but did not report pay status.
4 Includes both the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed.
5 Refers to self-employed persons who worked at home and reported that they ran their business from home and no other
location.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries who reported that they usually work at home at
least once per week as part of their primary job. Dash represents or rounds to zero.
Table 8. Job-related work at home on primary job by sex, occupation, industry, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, educational
attainment, and frequency of work at home, May 2004
(In thousands)
Total who Worked at home Worked at home Worked at home Worked at home
Characteristic worked at home at least once at least once at least once less than once
(1) per week (2) every 2 weeks per month per month
Total, 16 years and over........................... 25,437 20,673 1,929 1,637 881
Men.................................................. 13,309 10,780 1,093 836 438
Women................................................ 12,128 9,893 835 800 443
Occupation
Management, professional, and related occupations.... 16,665 13,445 1,377 1,092 536
Management, business, and financial operations
occupations...................................... 7,073 5,602 608 523 270
Professional and related occupations............... 9,591 7,842 769 569 266
Service occupations.................................. 1,617 1,414 78 63 48
Sales and office occupations......................... 5,285 4,291 347 373 209
Sales and related occupations...................... 3,586 3,137 211 141 65
Office and administrative support occupations...... 1,700 1,154 137 232 144
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations....................................... 1,273 1,036 105 57 55
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations......... 3 3 - - -
Construction and extraction occupations............ 834 705 62 35 26
Installation, maintenance, and repair
occupations...................................... 436 329 43 22 29
Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations....................................... 597 488 22 51 33
Production occupations............................. 338 276 12 29 21
Transportation and material moving occupations..... 259 212 11 22 12
Industry
Mining............................................... 51 44 3 � 2
Construction......................................... 1,758 1,491 122 77 52
Manufacturing........................................ 1,965 1,488 183 178 89
Wholesale and retail trade........................... 2,939 2,416 213 164 114
Transportation and utilities......................... 601 459 42 61 35
Information.......................................... 849 638 98 77 33
Financial activities................................. 2,739 2,210 212 190 89
Professional and business services................... 4,264 3,401 331 323 148
Education and health services........................ 7,322 6,189 485 364 191
Leisure and hospitality.............................. 873 731 46 51 32
Other services....................................... 1,302 1,113 80 70 28
Public administration................................ 773 493 114 82 69
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White................................................ 22,418 18,255 1,728 1,422 749
Black or African American............................ 1,554 1,245 97 106 75
Asian................................................ 924 718 69 81 45
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......................... 1,491 1,255 64 100 48
Educational attainment
Total, 25 years and over........................... 24,579 20,024 1,854 1,565 827
Less than a high school diploma...................... 599 539 13 29 11
High school graduates, no college (3)................ 3,300 2,631 197 271 147
Some college or associate degree..................... 5,686 4,482 448 431 278
Bachelor's degree and higher (4)..................... 14,995 12,372 1,197 835 392
1 Includes persons who did not report frequency of work at home.
2 Persons who usually work at homethat is, persons who worked at home at least once per weekare the focus of this report.
3 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
4 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Data refer to employed persons in nonagricultural industries who reported that they work at home as part of their primary
job. Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and,
therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Dash represents or rounds to zero.