The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) published a new report on Remote Work and Workers Compensation Frequency to assess trends among remote workers.

To analyze changes in remote work, NCCI derived estimates on remote-friendly occupations by using leveraging their own data, as well as data from the National Center for O*NET Development, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the report, remote work now makes up 20–30% of the U.S. workforce, up from 4–7% pre-pandemic. Approximately half of all workers in either an office-based business or a clerical class code have remote-friendly jobs. The share rises to about three-fourths for workers who fall into both categories. Very few workers who fall outside both of these groups have remote-friendly jobs.

These two categories of workers account for over half of all workers compensation payroll but only 11% of workers compensation premium. Furthermore, from 2019 to 2022, these two worker groups saw a 40% drop in claim frequency, far exceeding overall declines in claim frequency.

Remote work levels have remained steady since late 2021, with little return-to-office movement. It’s still unclear whether the workers’ comp system has fully adapted to this shift. Understanding more about these trends helps refine risk models and anticipate regulatory changes as workplace dynamics evolve.