It’s no secret that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic spurred changes in the way society functions. New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows how those changes affected the lives of Connecticut residents. According to the report, the percentage of employees working remotely increased dramatically, while rent costs increased and people found new jobs in different industries.
Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, less than six percent of workers in Connecticut worked remotely. However, since Covid-19 forced employers to adapt, the number of those working remotely has shot up by 250 percent. Now, according to the report, nearly 20 percent of Connecticut workers reported working remotely.
As a result, the percentage of Connecticut residents who reported working in the state also increased. The percentage of people that reported working within the state went from 92.5 percent in 2019 to 94.1 percent in 2021.
While remote work increased, so did rent costs. According to the report, the median monthly rent in Connecticut increased from $1,117 in 2019 to $1,277 in 2021. For the 33 percent of Connecticut residents who rent their homes, the number of households that spent 35 percent or more of their income on rent increased from 40.6 percent to 42.9 percent.
The pandemic also caused shifts in the workforce. From 2019 to 2021, there was a significant change in occupational distribution as workers migrated to industries less impacted by Covid-19. The service industry took the biggest hit, seeing a 2.5 percent drop in workers, while those working in management, business, science and arts increased by 2.1 percent.
