Census 2021: Covid restrictions saw 2.5 million working from home

Covid restrictions drove more than 20 per cent of the Australian workforce to work from home.

Empty offices in Melbourne’s Docklands. Picture: Alex Coppel

More than 20 per cent, or 2.5 million, of the 12 million people employed on census day in 2021 were working from home as much of the eastern seaboard was tied down by Covid restrictions.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said 1.14 million people in NSW, or 31 per cent of those employed in the state, were working from home on August 10 last year.

In Victoria, 814,082 people were working from home, equivalent to 26 per cent of those employed in the state on census day, while 344,696 people in Queensland were working from home.

Of the 1.3 million employed in Western Australia, just 98,289 worked from home while in the Northern Territory, 4545 worked from home.

People employed in internet publishing and broadcasting had the highest proportion of people working from home at 72 per cent, while less than 5 per cent of people employed in hospitals reported working from home.

One in four workers living in capital cities worked from home compared with one in eight in regional and rural areas.

The impact of Covid and restrictions drove changes in occupations for people across the country. Census data showed the number of people employed as tourism and travel advisers more than halved since the last census, while delivery drivers increased by more than 70 per cent.

Almost 7 per cent, or 787,000, of employed people worked zero hours in the week before the census compared to 3 per cent in the week before the 2016 census. People working zero hours were not working for various reasons including that they were on leave or unable to work due to lockdown or self-isolation.

Australian Statistician David Gruen said the 2021 census would provide enduring value to researchers and policymakers by revealing how the pandemic changed life in Australia.

“Covid-19 restrictions in NSW contributed to unprecedented results,” Dr Gruen said.

“For example, 15 per cent of people employed in the construction industry in NSW worked zero hours.

“This contrasts with the rest of Australia with 3 per cent of the people employed in construction working zero hours.”

A high proportion of people employed in the arts and recreation services industry worked zero hours in states impacted by restrictions.

In this industry 23 per cent of employed people worked zero hours in NSW, 20 per cent in Queensland and 14 per cent in Victoria, compared to 5 per cent for the rest of the country.

After initially shunning city workplaces, many white-collar workers have shifted to hybrid work arrangements, working in the office for two to three days a week and spending the other days working from home.

According to a recent survey, about 50 per cent of knowledge workers say they would quit rather than give up working from home or hybrid work.

The survey of 1000 remote and hybrid employees was carried out by people management platform Employment Hero, and shows that 78 per cent of workers say working remotely at least some of the time helps offset rises in the costs of living.

The report argues financial insecurity is now one of the top concerns for Australian workers, with 51 per cent of respondents revealing they had a second income stream and 24 per cent admitting to a second job or side business venture.