Telecommuting, a trend that gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic, appears to be a permanent fixture in the U.S. labor market, economists say.

The home office revolution is “one of the biggest changes in the U.S. labor market in recent decades,” says Nick Bunker, head of economic research for North America at the job portal Indeed.

“It’s still active,” he said. “It’ll probably be there for a long time.”

The term “remote work” includes both employees who do their work from home full-time and so-called “hybrid” arrangements in which companies, for example, ask their employees to work in the office for some days of the working week and from home for the rest.

Economists say such agreements were rare before the pandemic.

However, they increased sharply in the first days of the pandemic due to the exit restrictions.

Although the number of remote work opportunities has declined since its peak, it appears to have stabilized well above pre-pandemic levels, economists say.

The number of days spent working from home during the workweek has remained stable between 25% and 30% since the beginning of 2023, more than three times the pre-Covid level, according to July data from WFH Research.

The share of online job postings offering remote or hybrid work also appears to have leveled off at just under 8%, about three times higher than in 2019, according to data from Indeed as of June 30.

“Telecommuting is not going away,” Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies workplace management practices, recently told CNBC.

Teleworking has persisted primarily because it brings benefits to both employees and employers, say economists.

For example, Bloom’s research suggests that employees value hybrid work about as much as an 8% raise.

“For many job seekers, this is very important,” which makes it difficult for employers to “unleash” this aspect of the job, says Bunker.

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Economists say teleworking is also a lucrative solution for companies.

For example, they can save money on real estate by downsizing their office space. Remote work also expands the pool of potential candidates when hiring, Bunker said.

Employees who can work from home are also less likely to quit because they value the arrangement, which reduces company spending on hiring, recruiting and training, Bloom said.

Of course, not all jobs can be done from home. According to WFH Research, in July, about 36% of employees whose jobs could be done remotely were instead working full-time in the office.

Companies have pointed to the downsides of remote work, including limited ability to observe and monitor employees and reduced peer mentoring, cited by 45% and 42% of employers, respectively, according to a 2023 ZipRecruiter survey.

An economic downturn could potentially prompt employers to restrict telework to the point where employees lose power, Bunker said.

However, he doubts many would do so, given the aforementioned financial benefits of remote work. Moreover, such a move would likely reduce worker morale and productivity at a time of already low morale, he added.