For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, March 22, 2023 USDL-23-0539

Technical information: (202) 691-6567 • BRS_Inquiry@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/brs

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

TELEWORK, HIRING, AND VACANCIES – 2022

DATA FROM THE BUSINESS RESPONSE SURVEY

In August and September 2022, 27.5 percent of private-sector establishments (2.5 million) had 

employees teleworking some or all the time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. 

Industries with the highest percent of establishments employing teleworkers were information (67.4

percent), professional and business services (49.0 percent), educational services (46.0 percent), and 

wholesale trade (39.0 percent).

Data in this release are from the 2022 Business Response Survey (BRS). BRS data were collected from 

private-sector establishments from August 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. The survey's topics 

included telework at establishments both at the time of the survey and before the COVID-19 pandemic, 

hiring by establishments in July 2022, and job vacancies at establishments at the time of the survey. 

Detailed tables by industry, state, and establishment size are available at www.bls.gov/brs.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Accommodation and food services

Natural resources and mining

Construction

Retail trade

Transportation and warehousing

Other services, except public administration

Health care and social assistance

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Manufacturing

Utilities

Financial activities

Wholesale trade

Educational services

Professional and business services

Information

Total U. S., private-sector

Chart 1: Establishments with employees teleworking some or all the time, 

August-September 2022, by industry (percent)
-2-

Telework at private-sector establishments

• The percent of establishments with employees teleworking changed over the last year. In 

August-September 2022, 72.5 percent of establishments had little or no telework, compared to 

60.1 percent in July-September 2021.

• The percent of establishments with some (but not all) employees teleworking was 16.4 percent 

in 2022, compared to 29.8 percent in 2021.

• The percent of establishments with all their employees teleworking all the time was about the 

same—11.1 percent in August-September 2022, compared to 10.3 percent in July-September 

2021.

• In August-September 2022, 95.1 percent of establishments (including those that did and did 

not have telework) expected the amount of telework at their establishment to remain the same 

over the next 6 months.

Private-sector new hires in July 2022

• Nationwide, 22.4 percent of establishments hired new employees in July 2022. 

• In July 2022, 7.3 percent of establishments increased starting pay, and 5.4 percent expanded 

advertising to attract more applicants to newly filled positions. Among the other methods used by 

establishments to attract more applicants were: starting to use recruiters/talent agencies (2.4 percent);

offering hiring bonuses (1.9 percent); reducing the job's qualifications, such as education or 

experience (1.3 percent); expanding benefits (1.2 percent); offering more hours (1.0 percent); and 

expanding telework or remote work (0.7 percent). 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

All employees teleworking all of the

time

Some (but not all) employees

teleworking

All employees teleworking rarely or

never

Chart 2: Establishments with teleworkers, August-September 2022 and 

July-September 2021 (percent)

2021

2022
-3-

• In July 2022, 2.4 percent of establishments hired at least one employee who will telework all the 

time.

• Nationally, 7.0 percent of establishments took more than 30 days to fill at least one open 

position. The percentage of establishments with positions that took more than 30 days to fill 

varied by industry. The industries most likely to take more than 30 days to fill positions were 

accommodation and food services (14.9 percent), health care and social assistance (12.3

percent), and manufacturing (11.1 percent). The industries with the lowest percentage of 

positions that had been filled after having been open for more than 30 days were natural 

resources and mining (3.9 percent), information (4.1 percent), and financial activities (4.4

percent).

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Expanded telework or remote work

Offered more hours (e.g., changed position from P/T to F/T)

Expanded benefits

Reduced qualifications (e.g., education or experience)

Offered hiring bonuses

Started using recruiters/talent agencies

Expanded advertising

Increased starting pay

Chart 3: Establishments' methods for attracting more applicants for newly filled 

positions (percent) 

0 10 20

Natural resources and mining

Information

Financial activities

Professional and business services

Construction

Wholesale trade

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Utilities

Retail trade

Other services, except public administration

Transportation and warehousing

Educational services

Manufacturing

Health care and social assistance

Accommodation and food services

Total U.S., private-sector

Chart 4: Establishments that hired new employees in July 2022 for positions open 

for more than 30 days, by industry (percent)
-4-

Private-sector job vacancies in August-September 2022

• Nationwide, 20.9 percent of establishments had vacancies they were attempting to fill when 

they were surveyed in August-September 2022, and 40.5 percent had vacancies within the 12 

months prior to the survey (August 2021-September 2022).

• In August-September 2022, 3.1 percent of establishments had at least one vacancy eligible for 

telework all the time.

• Nationwide, 12.3 percent of establishments had at least one vacancy open for more than 30 

days. 

• The percentage of establishments that had a vacancy open for more than 30 days varied by 

industry, ranging from 6.9 percent in natural resources and mining to 20.2 percent in

accommodation and food services.

• How establishments advertised their vacancies varied by the educational requirements of the 

position. Nationwide, 13.4 percent of establishments used online job boards or hiring platforms 

to advertise positions requiring a bachelor's degree or higher, while 24.1 percent did so for 

positions that did not require a bachelor's degree or higher.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Online job

boards/hiring

platforms

Word of

mouth/social media

to advertise

positions

Company's website Recruiting firm Advertised in

periodicals

Physical

advertisements

Chart 5: Establishments' methods of advertising vacancies by educational 

requirements (percent)

Position required bachelor's degree or higher Position did not require bachelor's degree or higher
-5-

More Information 

• Data were collected from private-sector establishments only; government establishments were 

excluded. As a result, the estimates of establishments and employment refer to private-sector 

establishments and employment. Total U.S. estimates include the 50 states, District of Columbia,

Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

• The 2022 Business Response Survey asked 21 questions about telework, hiring, and vacancies. 

The questionnaire is available at www.bls.gov/brs/about/survey/brs-questionnaire-2022.pdf.

• The 2021 Business Response Survey asked 22 questions about changes businesses made to their 

operations during the pandemic through September 2021. These data are available at 

www.bls.gov/brs/2021-results.htm.

• The full Technical Note for the 2022 Business Response Survey on Telework, Hiring, and 

Vacancies is available at www.bls.gov/brs/methods/2022-technical-notes.htm. Details about 

specific tabulations for hiring in July 2022, and vacancies during the reference period can be 

found in the technical note.

Additional Industry, State, and Establishment Size Data 

for the 2022 Business Response Survey

Data tables by industry, state, and establishment size class are available at 

www.bls.gov/brs/data/tables/2022.

Charts and maps by industry and establishment size class are available at 

www.bls.gov/brs/data/charts/2022.
-6-

Technical Note

Data Collection

Data for the 2022 Business Response Survey (BRS) were 

collected from August 1 through September 30, 2022. The BRS 

relied on the existing data collection platform of the BLS 

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 

program’s Annual Refiling Survey (ARS). BRS survey responses 

were solicited via email and printed letters. Responses were 

collected online using the ARS platform. This allows for a large, 

nationally representative sample to be surveyed at minimal cost.

Definitions

Establishments. An individual establishment is generally defined 

as a single physical location at which one, or predominantly one, 

type of economic activity is conducted. Most employers covered 

under the state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws operate only 

one place of business.

Industry. The BRS uses the 2017 North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). NAICS is the standard used by 

federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments 

for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical 

data on industry. In NAICS, each establishment is assigned a 6-

digit code to identify its industry at the finest breakout available 

in the classification system. However, for publication purposes, 

data are often summarized at the 2-digit level to represent 

industry sectors.

Large/small establishments. For these data, establishments with 

2021 annual average employment of 1-499 are considered small, 

and greater than 499 are considered large.

Telework. This is a work arrangement that allows an employee to 

work at home, or from another remote location, by using the 

internet or a computer linked to one’s place of employment, as 

well as digital communications such as email and phone.

New hires. This includes any new employees hired in July 2022, 

even if they had not formally started working in July 2022 or had 

left the position since being hired. Establishments were instructed 

to report only hires for their specific location and not any other 

location of the same company.

Job vacancies. This includes any paid position, new or unfilled, 

that the establishment is taking active steps to recruit or hire for 

at the time of data collection. For positions with multiple 

vacancies, establishments were instructed to report the number of 

candidates they would be willing to hire for that position.

Sample Design and Selection Procedures

For the 2022 BRS, BLS selected a stratified sample of

approximately 340,000 establishments from a universe of over 

8.9 million private-sector establishments. The universe source 

was the set of establishments from the 2021 fourth quarter BLS 

Business Register that were identified as in-scope for this survey.

The BLS Business Register is a comprehensive quarterly 

business name and address file of employers subject to state 

Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws. It is generated from data 

gathered by the QCEW program. Each quarter, QCEW collects 

and summarizes employment and wage information at various 

levels of geography and industry. Geographic breakouts include 

county, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), state, and national. 

Industry breakouts are available at the detailed 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-

digit NAICS levels, as well as at the industry sector level and at 

the higher-level goods and services producing designations. 

The QCEW covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto 

Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The primary sources of data 

for these 53 entities are the Quarterly Contributions Reports 

(QCRs) submitted to State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) by 

employers subject to state UI laws. The QCEW program also 

gathers separately sourced data for Federal Government 

employees covered by the Unemployment Compensation for 

Federal Employees (UCFE) program.

There were approximately 11 million establishments on the 2021

fourth quarter BLS Business Register that served as the source of 

the BRS's sampling universe. However, about 2 million of these 

establishments were determined to be out-of-scope for the 

survey. Establishments that met the following characteristics 

were excluded from the universe:

• Public Administration & Government (NAICS 92)

• Private Households (NAICS 814110)

• U.S. Postal Service (NAICS 491110)

• Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities 

(NAICS 624120) with Establishment Size = 1

• Unclassified Accounts (NAICS 999999)

The 2022 BRS leveraged the technical and collection 

infrastructure of the ARS. To integrate the BRS sample into the 

ARS framework, each establishment in the BRS sampling 

universe was categorized into one of the following groups:

• ARS-eligible establishments – active for this year's ARS 

(BRS selectable)

• ARS-eligible establishments – inactive for this year's ARS 

(BRS not selectable)

• ARS-ineligible establishments

(BRS selectable)

Not all establishments are eligible for the ARS. Establishments 

with one to three employees are never administered the ARS,

and, of the establishments that are eligible for the ARS, only 

about one-third are randomly selected to be administered the 

ARS in any given year. During BRS sample selection, active 

ARS-eligible establishments and ARS-ineligible establishments 

were "selectable." Inactive ARS-eligible establishments were 

disallowed from selection, in part to reduce respondent burden 

over time. 

Each BRS sampling stratum consisted of establishments from 

one or more of the groups above. Within strata containing only 

active ARS-eligible establishments or only ARS-ineligible 

establishments, establishments were selected with no restrictions 

using simple random sampling. Strata containing only inactive 

ARS-eligible establishments were imputed because there were 

no selectable establishments and, therefore, no survey results. For 

any stratum containing a mix of ARS-eligible and ARS-ineligible 

establishments, stratum sample sizes were allocated 
-7-

proportionately to each sub-population. Within the stratum's 

ARS-ineligible sub-population, establishments were selected

with no restrictions using simple random sampling. Within the 

stratum's ARS-eligible sub-population, the active/selectable 

establishments were selected by taking a simple random sample.

Note that for any stratum containing both active ARS-eligible 

and inactive ARS-eligible establishments, the sample was 

selected from only the active portion of the stratum. Because 

ARS active/inactive status was random, this selection was 

considered to be representative of all ARS eligible 

establishments in the stratum. Because of this, and because 

stratum sample sizes were proportionately allocated to 

eligible/ineligible sub-populations, sample units were equally 

weighted within (but not across) strata and survey question 

combinations.

When designing the survey and determining sample sizes, BLS 

researchers, analysts, and methodologists collaborated to identify 

the key research goals. As part of this process, a balance had to 

be struck between producing precise estimates for various 

establishment aggregations and the costs associated with fielding 

a sample that could deliver on those goals. Based on the types of 

administrative data available for establishments on the BLS 

Business Register and based on the team's experience analyzing 

similar establishment-based surveys, research goals centered on 

creating survey estimates for different combinations of 

establishment geography, industry type, and/or establishment 

size. This motivated the decision to choose a design that stratified 

on all three factors. A decision was then made to define granular 

strata to keep the strata homogeneous and to facilitate the 

construction of a wide array of broader composite estimates as 

functions of the more narrowly defined strata estimates. In the 

2022 BRS, strata were defined jointly on the following factors:

• State {All states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands}

• Industry Type, based primarily on 2-digit NAICS

• Establishment Size, based on employment {1-4, 5-9, 10-19, 

20-49, 50-99, 100-249, 250-499, 500-999, 1000+}

In the establishment size list above, all nine "narrow" size 

groupings are given. Some BRS analyses were conducted using 

two other broader establishment size groupings – a "mediumwidth" grouping and a "broad," or large/small, grouping. The 

medium-width size classes were 1-19, 20-99, 100-499, and 500+. 

The large/small groupings were 0-499 and 500+. 

BLS identified specific state-industry, state-size class, and 

industry-size class establishment aggregations as the key levels 

at which to produce estimates to a certain degree of precision 

while minimizing survey cost and respondent burden. These 

aggregations were used to drive sample size determination. 

Specifically, they were:

• State by goods-producing/services-producing industry type 

categorization {52*2 = 104 estimation cells}

• State by medium-width establishment size {52*4 = 208 

estimation cells}

• Modified NAICS sector by medium-width establishment 

size {15*4 = 60 estimation cells}

• Narrow establishment size {9 estimation cells}

Because these aggregates were initially identified as the most 

important ones, the sample was designed to achieve a desired 

precision when generating estimates for these groupings. The 

sample was not designed to achieve a desired precision when 

estimating for other groupings, although in some cases the 

desired precision was achieved anyway. 

For each estimation cell within each of the four key aggregates 

listed above, sample sufficiency counts were determined based 

on estimating proportions to an agreed-upon degree of precision. 

The formula for the sample sufficiency of an estimation cell was 

based on the deconstruction of the formula for the variance of a 

proportion (using simple random sampling within the cell). 

Estimation cell sample sufficiency counts were then allocated 

proportionately to all strata within each cell. The result was a set 

of four "allocated sufficiency counts" per stratum. For each 

stratum, the maximum of the four sufficiency counts was chosen. 

Each stratum's chosen sufficiency count was then divided by an 

estimated survey response rate to derive a stratum sample size. If 

the chosen value exceeded the number of selectable 

establishments in a stratum, the stratum's final sample size was 

set equal to its number of selectable establishments. In that case, 

the truncated sample size was reallocated to other strata mapping 

to the same estimation cell. Once sample sizes were finalized, 

samples were selected within each stratum as described earlier.

Response Rate

The 2022 BRS consisted of 22 questions to which establishments 

could respond. A survey was considered usable if the respondent 

answered at least 4 of the 22 questions, including inferred 

answers where appropriate. Estimates were generated from 

usable surveys only.

Of the approximately 340,000 sampled establishments, 

approximately 5,300 were deemed uncollectible prior to fielding 

the sample. These uncollectible establishments were treated as 

non-respondents. Typically, these were establishments that 

changed status between the time the universe was drawn and data 

collection and could no longer be contacted or could not respond 

to the survey. Thus, the 2022 BRS was administered to 

approximately 335,000 establishments.

Of the establishments that were given the opportunity to take the 

survey, about 91,000 participated to some degree, and 

approximately 1,000 were not usable (answered fewer than four 

questions). Thus:

• Survey Participation Rate (relative to the full sample) = 

26.9%

• Survey Participation Rate (relative to the collectible sample)

= 27.3%

• Usable Response Rate (relative to the full sample) = 26.7%

• Usable Response Rate (relative to the collectible sample) = 

27.1%

• Usability Rate Amongst Survey Participants = 99.2%

Estimation Methodology

BRS estimates were derived using straightforward stratified 

sample estimators. Independent estimates were calculated within 

each stratum having at least one usable response. Estimates for 

each stratum having no usable responses were imputed from 

broader estimates that encompass the missing stratum. 
-8-

Composite, or aggregated, estimates were built from weighted 

combinations of directly estimated strata results and, where 

necessary, imputed strata results.

For full technical documentation, visit: 

www.bls.gov/brs/methods/2022-technical-notes.htm

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
-9-

Table 1: U.S. Business Response Survey on Telework, Hiring and Vacancies, private sector, 2022

1,2

 Result Percent of 

establishments

Number of 

establishments

Percent of 

employment in 

establishments

Employment in 

establishments

 TELEWORK

Establishments with all employees teleworking all of the time3 11.1 996,374 3.3 4,082,025

Establishments with employees teleworking some of the time3 16.4 1,464,501 31.9 39,206,590

Establishments with all employees teleworking rarely or never3 72.5 6,487,976 64.8 79,611,896

Establishments that expect the amount of time employees are 

permitted to telework will increase4

1.8 163,114 2.4 2,945,910

Establishments that expect the amount of time employees are

permitted to telework will decrease4

3.0 272,936 4.6 5,614,456

Establishments that expect the amount of time employees are 

permitted to telework will stay about the same4

95.1 8,512,801 93.0 114,340,145

Establishments open in February 2020, with any employees 

teleworking before the COVID-19 pandemic5

23.3 1,976,740 26.1 31,700,691

Establishments open in February 2020, with no employees 

teleworking before the COVID-19 pandemic5

76.7 6,594,584 73.9 89,388,647

 HIRING

Establishments that hired new employees6 22.4 2,000,546 59.0 72,502,456

Establishments that hired 1-2 employees6 13.8 1,234,865 17.9 21,994,191

Establishments that hired 3-5 employees6 4.6 413,484 13.4 16,512,263

Establishments that hired 6-10 employees6 1.8 164,571 9.2 11,339,565

Establishments that hired 11-19 employees6 0.7 59,731 5.7 7,033,250

Establishments that hired 20 or more employees6 0.6 56,548 11.1 13,589,549

Establishments that hired at least one full time teleworker 

(remote worker) 6

2.4 213,275 7.7 9,452,055

Establishments that expanded advertising to attract more applicants 

for newly filled positions6

5.4 480,301 20.1 24,664,748

Establishments that started using recruiters/talent agencies to attract 

more applicants for newly filled positions6

2.4 213,092 8.0 9,787,814

Establishments that increased starting pay to attract more applicants 

for newly filled positions6

7.3 656,826 21.3 26,180,789

Establishments that offered hiring bonuses to attract more applicants 

for newly filled positions6

1.9 167,327 10.8 13,317,050

Establishments that offered more hours (e.g., changed position from

part-time to full-time) to attract more applicants for newly filled 

positions6

1.0 91,400 2.5 3,095,688

Establishments that reduced qualifications (e.g., education or 

experience) to attract more applicants for newly filled positions6

1.3 116,851 3.0 3,660,576

Establishments that expanded benefits to attract more applicants for 

newly filled positions6

1.2 111,201 3.6 4,408,643

Establishments that expanded telework or remote work to attract 

more applicants for newly filled positions6

0.7 64,128 3.3 4,075,144

Establishments that used at least one of the strategies listed above 

to attract more applicants for newly filled positions6

11.1 997,583 34.5 42,348,410

Establishments that hired new employees for positions open for

MORE THAN 30 days6

7.0 625,521 23.5 28,883,731

Establishments that hired new employees for positions open for

30 days OR LESS6

15.8 1,412,528 45.3 55,689,884

 VACANCIES

Establishments with current vacancies that they are attempting to fill3 20.9 1,871,801 51.9 63,724,670

Establishments with 1-2 vacancies3 12.0 1,075,298 13.1 16,099,211
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 Result Percent of 

establishments

Number of 

establishments

Percent of 

employment in 

establishments

Employment in 

establishments

 VACANCIES CONT.

Establishments with 3-5 vacancies3

5.2 462,525 12.3 15,157,637

Establishments with 6-10 vacancies3

1.7 148,603 7.7 9,515,161

Establishments with 11-19 vacancies3

0.6 55,872 4.2 5,142,579

Establishments with 20 or more vacancies3

0.8 69,893 12.3 15,148,832

Establishments with at least one vacant position eligible for 100% 

telework (remote)3

3.1 280,492 9.0 11,063,166

Establishments that have at least one vacant position that has been 

open for MORE THAN 30 days3

12.3 1,104,975 31.3 38,433,471

Establishments that had vacant positions in the last 12 months7

40.5 3,626,577 74.2 91,174,910

Establishments that used online job boards/hiring platforms to 

advertise positions that required a bachelor's degree or higher7

13.4 1,196,262 36.5 44,828,888

Establishments that used their company's website to advertise 

positions that required a bachelor's degree or higher7

8.8 786,917 30.9 37,993,634

Establishments that advertised in periodicals (e.g., newspapers, 

magazines, trade publications: electronic or paper) for positions that 

required a bachelor's degree or higher7

2.3 202,962 8.5 10,469,877

Establishments that used a recruiting firm to advertise positions that 

required a bachelor's degree or higher7

4.0 355,302 14.0 17,218,952

Establishments that used word of mouth/social media to advertise 

positions that required a bachelor's degree or higher7

10.3 925,555 28.0 34,457,029

Establishments that used physical advertisements (e.g., sign in store,

billboard, etc.) to advertise positions that required a bachelor's 

degree or higher7

1.2 109,499 4.9 6,060,502

Establishments that used at least one of the methods listed above to 

advertise positions that required a bachelor's degree or higher7

16.2 1,451,905 40.6 49,935,160

Establishments that used online job boards/hiring platforms to 

advertise positions that DID NOT require a bachelor's degree or 

higher7

24.1 2,158,470 55.2 67,880,633

Establishments that used their company's website to advertise 

positions that DID NOT require a bachelor's degree or higher7

13.7 1,224,459 43.5 53,477,449

Establishments that advertised in periodicals (e.g., newspapers, 

magazines, trade publications: electronic or paper) for positions that

DID NOT require a bachelor's degree or higher

7

5.1 455,210 14.2 17,440,274

Establishments that used a recruiting firm to advertise positions that 

DID NOT require a bachelor's degree or higher7

4.1 366,590 11.8 14,549,081

Establishments that used word of mouth/social media to advertise 

positions that DID NOT require a bachelor's degree or higher7

24.2 2,168,799 48.8 59,987,230

Establishments that used physical advertisements (e.g., sign in store, 

billboard, etc.) to advertise positions that DID NOT require a 

bachelor's degree or higher7

6.3 561,923 15.1 18,525,006

Establishments that used at least one of the methods listed above to

advertise positions that DID NOT require a bachelor's degree or

higher7 33.8 3,023,618 66.3 81,516,019

1Total, U.S. private sector includes the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

2Data collection took place from August 1, 2022 - September 30, 2022

3Reference: At the time of data collection (Aug-Sep 2022)

4Reference: In the next six months following the data collection period (Aug-Sep 2022)

5Reference: February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic

6Reference: July 2022

7Reference: Aug 2021-Sep 2022