Growth in remote work is among the key workplace trends to watch in the coming year as more companies recognize the benefits of expanding their talent reach beyond their local geographies. Today nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies have employees that work outside of the office, and research indicates the remote work will equal, if not surpass, fixed office locations by the year 2025.
FlexJobs, launched in 2007, lists flexible job opportunities in more than 50 career categories, along with career support. The company recently recognized that many of the fastest-growing occupations identified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also come with flexible work options — either a remote arrangement, a flexible or part-time schedule or freelance work — and each occupation is projected to grow by at least 23%.
"We strongly believe that remote work will continue to grow as a primary workplace trend in 2020, said Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs. "Telecommuting clearly has evolved beyond the 'perk' stage into a global phenomenon, and the 2020s will see organizations focusing on issues related to this development, such as well-crafted work-from-home policies and better security for shared information."
Among the sectors with the highest percent change of employment between 2018–28: health care and computer/IT and mathematics, according to the BLS.
According to FlexJobs, here are the jobs to watch for in 2020, ordered from highest growth to lowest, that come with flexible work options. Each occupation also lists 2018 median salary information.
1. Home health aides 37% growth ($24,200)
2. Information security analysts 32% growth ($98,350)
3. Physician assistants 31% growth ($108,610)
4. Statisticians 31% growth ($87,780)
5. Nurse practitioners 28% growth ($107,030)
6. Speech language pathologists 27% growth ($77,510)
7. Genetic counselors 27% growth ($80,370)
8. Mathematicians 26% ($101,900)
9. Operations research analysts 26% growth ($83,390)
10. Software developers, applications 26% growth ($103,620)
11. Health specialties teachers, post-secondary 23% growth ($97,370)
12. Medical assistants 23% growth ($33,610)
For more on tech, transformation and the future of work, join CNBC at the @Work Summit in New York on April 1–2, 2020.
