2

Technical information: (202) 691-6378

 http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-1768

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

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 noninstitutional 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 percent 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.)
Table A. Job-related work at home on primary job by selected characteristics, May 2001 and May 2004

(Percent)

Characteristic

Persons who usually worked at home 1

Percent of

total

employed

Percent distribution by class of worker 2

Total

Wage and salary

Selfemployed Paid work 3

at home

Unpaid

work at

home

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 of 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. 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.

2
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. Schoolteachers

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 homebased 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, reflecting, 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 percent 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
4

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.)

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 arrangement 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.)
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.

Respondents 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

depending 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 information,

and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.

For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS

and information 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-athome 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.

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

5. Reduce commuting time or expense

6. Local transportation or pollution control program

7. Some other reason

needs
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 fourfifths 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 tabulations of May 2004 data for all

workers—not restricted by frequency of work at home—are

available upon request.

Historical comparability

Data in this release for May 2004 and May 2001 are not

strictly comparable 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 classifications, which

affect the class of worker status—that is, the classification of

workers as either self-employed or wage and salary workers.

These changes affect comparability with 2001 estimates as

originally published 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)

Characteristic Total

employed 1

Persons who usually worked at home 2

Total

Percent of

total

employed

Percent distribution by class of worker 3

Total

Wage and salary

Selfemployed Paid work 4

at home

Unpaid

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)

Characteristic Total

employed 1

Persons who usually worked at home 2

Total

Percent of

total

employed

Percent distribution by class of worker 3

Total

Wage and salary

Selfemployed Paid work 4

at home

Unpaid

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)

Characteristic Paid work

at home 1

Percent distribution by hours worked at home 2 Mean

weekly

hours

usually

worked at

home

Total Hours vary Less than

8 hours

8 hours or more

Total 35 hours

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)

Characteristic

Unpaid

work at

home 1

Percent distribution by hours worked at home 2 Mean

weekly

hours

usually

worked at

home

Total Hours vary Less than

8 hours

8 hours or more

Total 35 hours

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)

Characteristic

Selfemployed

persons

who

worked at

home 1

Self-employed persons with home-based businesses 2

Total

Percent of

self-employed

who worked at

home with a

home-based

business

Percent distribution by hours worked at home 3 Mean

weekly

hours

usually

worked at

home

Total Hours vary Less than

8 hours

8 hours or more

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

Characteristic

Worked at

home 1(in

thousands)

Percent of workers using electronic equipment for work

Computer Internet or

e-mail Fax Telephone Other

 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

Characteristic

Worked at

home 1(in

thousands)

Reason for working at home (percent)

Finish or

catch up

on work

Business

is

conducted

from home

Nature of

the job

Coordinate

work

schedule

with

personal or

family

needs

Reduce

commuting

time or

expense

Local

transportation or

pollution

control

program

Some

other

reason

 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)

Characteristic Total who worked

at home 1

Worked at home

at least once per

week 2

Worked at home

at least once

every 2 weeks

Worked at home

at least once per

month

Worked at home

less than once

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 home—that is, persons who worked at

home at least once per week—are 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.