Why ‘remote work isn’t dead’ heading into 2025

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High-paid remote job postings surged in the third quarter, amid a tug-of-war between companies and workers and a renewed return-to-office push.

New data from the high-paying jobs site Ladders.com found remote job opportunities paying $250,000 or more surged from 8.83% of jobs posted in the second quarter to 10.44% of jobs posted in Q3. That change mostly came from the share of in-office jobs slipping from 88.5% to 86.6% of jobs posted during that same time period. Hybrid jobs paying $250,000 or more also grew slightly, from 2.66% of posted jobs in Q2 to 2.93% of posted jobs in Q3.

“This is not just a trend — it’s a shift that’s redefining what work looks like in high-paying markets,” said John Mullinix, director of growth marketing at Ladders. “Despite headlines screaming about return-to-office commands at some big companies, the data shows remote work isn’t dead.”

The continued resilience of high-paying remote work jobs, and remote work in general, comes in an environment in which prominent CEOs and politicians have recently pushed to bring workers back to the office full time. Billionaire and Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk — who has long called for an end to remote work — laid out a plan to reduce the size of the federal workforce in part by ending remote work.

Amazon.com Inc. CEO Andy Jassy this fall said workers would be required to be back to the office five days a week starting in January. Walmart Inc. also began pushing stricter office mandates over the summer as it builds a new corporate campus in Bentonville, Arkansas. New RTO mandates have also been issued from Dell Technologies Inc., Salesforce Inc., AT&T Inc., United Parcel Service Inc. and Bank of America Corp.

But remote work’s resilience continues because remote work has proven its value, Mullinix said. After two years of experimentation and considering the results, many businesses are seeing sustained productivity and engagement from remote workers, he added.

That solidifies remote roles as a core strategy for businesses looking to capitalize on worker demands for flexibility. Offering remote work can help them attract top talent that prioritizes work-life benefits, as many high-demand workers see remote work as a key benefit, he added.

But remote work also has a cost-savings angle, too, as businesses can cut down on their real estate spending and take advantage of hiring workers in lower-priced areas, including other countries.

“It’s easier for [companies] to justify higher salaries for remote jobs when they’re cutting operational costs elsewhere. Plus, industries like tech, consulting and finance are scaling remote opportunities to remain competitive,” Mullinix said. “Companies aren’t just hiring locally anymore — they’re sourcing talent globally. This naturally increases the number of remote-job postings as they open opportunities to regions where in-person work isn’t feasible.”

Which industries pay the most?

The highest-paying jobs — roles that pay $250,000 or more — are largely in the medical and technical fields, including doctors, medical directors, dentists and psychiatrists, as well as software engineers and chief financial officers, according to Ladders.

Some jobs that pay salaries of $250,000 or more per year get far more applicant interest than others, Ladders found. The most competitive jobs among applicants are for marketing and human-resources jobs, followed by operations and general manager positions. The least competitive, or the job postings with the fewest applicants, include roles in health care and science and education.

More companies overall are recruiting remote workers, at least according to online jobs marketplace ZipRecruiter, which found 22% of organizations surveyed were actively recruiting remote workers, up from 16% in 2023. Hybrid work seems to be the preferred method among jobs of all types, with 40% of employers supporting hybrid work in 2024. Those that supported fully remote work declined to 7%, down from 21% in 2023.

The total share of workers who report some level of remote working has remained stable in recent months, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In November, 10.5% of workers said they worked fully remote, compared to 12.4% who said they teleworked some percentage of their work hours. About 77% of workers said they did not work remotely at all.

In November 2023, about 10% of workers said they worked remotely full time while 10% said they were remote part time, according to BLS data.

The share of those working remotely rises dramatically in specific occupations. In business and financial operations, 30.7% of workers said they were fully remote while 38% of those in computer and mathematical occupations worked remotely full time, BLS found.

Andy Medici is senior reporter for The Playbook, The Business Journals.