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Educational attainment, employment, and working from home, February–May 2021

October 08, 2021

The higher their education level, the more likely people born in the years 1980 to 1984 were to work for pay or profit in an average week from February to May 2021. At each level of education, men were more likely to work than women.

Percentage of people born in the years 1980 to 1984 who worked for pay in an average week, by educational attainment, February–May 2021
Educational attainment Women Men

Less than a high school diploma

43.2% 56.7%

General Educational Development (GED) credential

53.1 64.9

High school graduates, no college

63.7 75.8

Some college or associate degree

71.4 80.0

Bachelor's degree and higher

84.5 93.9

About 43 percent of women with less than a high school diploma worked in an average week, compared with 85 percent of women with a bachelor's degree or higher level of education. Among men, 57 percent with less than a high school diploma worked in an average week during these months, compared with almost 94 percent of men with a bachelor's degree or higher.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some workers were encouraged to telework. Both men and women with higher levels of education were more likely to work from home at least some of the time than those with lower levels of education.

People born in the years 1980 to 1984 who worked from home in an average week, by educational attainment and sex, percent distribution, February–May 2021
Amount of work done from home Less than a high school diploma General Educational Development (GED) credential High school graduates, no college Some college or associate degree Bachelor's degree and higher

Women

None

79.6% 78.6% 71.0% 59.1% 31.3%

Some

10.7 11.8 12.2 18.7 26.8

All

9.6 9.6 16.9 22.2 41.8

Men

None

84.3 79.3 79.6 64.2 32.9

Some

8.9 13.2 13.9 18.2 30.2

All

6.7 7.5 6.5 17.6 36.9

About 69 percent of women and 67 percent of men with a bachelor's degree or higher level of educational attainment did some or all of their work at home in an average week from February to May 2021.

In contrast, about 80 percent of women, and 84 percent of men, with less than a high school diploma never worked from home during these months. Among high school graduates, 71 percent of women and 80 percent of men, did none of their work at home.

These data are from a special supplement to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, part of the National Longitudinal Surveys program.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Educational attainment, employment, and working from home, February–May 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/educational-attainment-employment-and-working-from-home-february-may-2021.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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