Data for 2015-2020 is defined by the source as: '"people who work mainly at or from home in the UK, in the following categories 'own home', same grounds or building', and 'home as base'. Responders were asked to consider where they would mainly work in their main job prior to the Covid-19 pandemic."
Data for 1998-2014 is taken from a previous report from the ONS called '' released in 2014, with home workers defined as "those who usually spend at least half of their work time using their home."
Citation formats
Number of employees that work from home in the UK 1998-2020
In 2020, approximately *** million people worked mainly from home in the United Kingdom, an increase of around **** million people when compared with 1998, when just *** million workers mainly worked from home. As a share of all workers in the United Kingdom, this was the equivalent of **** percent of the UK workforce, compared with **** percent in 1998.Â
Rise of the hybrid workforce
More recent figures on working location trends in Great Britain, indicate that as of June 2025, around **Â percent of workers had worked from home exclusively in the last seven days, with a further **Â percent only travelling to work. Just over a ** of British workers, however, had both worked from home and traveled to work in the last seven days. Although less common than only travelling to work, hybrid working has generally been more popular than only working at home since around Spring 2022 and is possibly one of the most enduring impacts that COVID-19 had on the labor market.Â
Demographics of homeworkers
While advancements in internet connectivity and communication software have enabled more people to work from home than ever before, there are still obvious disparities in the share of homeworkers by industry. Over **** of the UK’s agriculture workforce in 2020 regularly worked from home, compared with just *** percent of those that worked in accommodation or food service. In the same year, the region with the highest share of people working from home was South West England at **** percent, while Northern Ireland had the lowest at just *** percent.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
Learn more about how ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ can support your business.
Office for National Statistics (UK). (May 17, 2021). Number of those in employment who work mainly from home in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Retrieved August 05, 2026, from /statistics/312345/working-from-home-in-the-united-kingdom-levels-employed-uk-y-on-y/
Office for National Statistics (UK). "Number of those in employment who work mainly from home in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in 1,000s)." Chart. May 17, 2021. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Accessed August 05, 2026. /statistics/312345/working-from-home-in-the-united-kingdom-levels-employed-uk-y-on-y/
Office for National Statistics (UK). (2021). Number of those in employment who work mainly from home in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in 1,000s). ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc.. Accessed: August 05, 2026. /statistics/312345/working-from-home-in-the-united-kingdom-levels-employed-uk-y-on-y/
Office for National Statistics (UK). "Number of Those in Employment Who Work Mainly from Home in The United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in 1,000s)." ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc., 17 May 2021, /statistics/312345/working-from-home-in-the-united-kingdom-levels-employed-uk-y-on-y/
Office for National Statistics (UK), Number of those in employment who work mainly from home in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in 1,000s) ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, /statistics/312345/working-from-home-in-the-united-kingdom-levels-employed-uk-y-on-y/ (last visited August 05, 2026)
Number of those in employment who work mainly from home in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in 1,000s) [Graph], Office for National Statistics (UK), May 17, 2021. [Online]. Available: /statistics/312345/working-from-home-in-the-united-kingdom-levels-employed-uk-y-on-y/