If you are looking for a remote job, it helps to know where the jobs actually are. We pulled together the most recent public data from job boards, hiring platforms and recruiters, and put the numbers side by side. Every figure below links to the report it comes from.
The short version: fully remote jobs are a small slice of all job postings, about 3–4% in the US. Project management, IT, operations, sales and customer service have the most remote openings. Sales and account management are growing fastest. Most remote jobs want some experience, so entry-level candidates need to stand out.
How many jobs are fully remote?
Most people overestimate this. When you count every job posted in the US, only a few percent are fully remote. Many more are hybrid, which still means going into an office some days.
| Source | Period | Fully remote | Hybrid | On-site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Half | Q1 2026 | 4% | 19% | 77% |
| Robert Half | Q2 2026 | 3% | 10% | 87% |
| Canaria | August 2026 | 4.43% | – | – |
Why the numbers differ: Robert Half looks at all new US postings, while Canaria only counts postings that say what the work arrangement is. Canaria also finds big gaps between industries: in software development about 23% of postings are fully remote, in restaurants almost none.
Tech is the big exception. In US tech hiring, remote is now the most common arrangement among postings that state one.
| Tech function | Remote share |
|---|---|
| Software engineering | 43.1% |
| Data & analytics | 41.7% |
| Cloud, infrastructure & networking | 38.7% |
| Cybersecurity | 37.2% |
| Quality assurance | 36.9% |
| Technical product & program management | 36.9% |
| IT support & systems | 36.1% |
| Hardware | 22.3% |
| All tech roles | 40.2% |
Source: PredictLeads, 677,699 US tech postings from July 18 to October 16, 2026, counting only postings that state remote, hybrid or on-site.
The 10 career fields with the most remote jobs
FlexJobs ranks career fields by how many remote listings they had over the whole of 2025. Project management moved ahead of computer & IT to take first place.
| Rank | Career field |
|---|---|
| 1 | Project Management |
| 2 | Computer & IT |
| 3 | Operations |
| 4 | Sales |
| 5 | Customer Service |
| 6 | Business Development |
| 7 | Accounting & Finance |
| 8 | Medical & Health |
| 9 | Communications |
| 10 | Marketing |
Source: FlexJobs Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2026, listings from January 1 to December 31, 2025.
Customer service is in the top five, which is why it remains one of the most reliable ways into remote work, especially from outside the US.
Fastest-growing remote fields in 2026
Big fields are not always the fastest-growing ones. FlexJobs compared remote postings from January to June 2026 with the six months before. It left out computer & IT, customer service and project management because they are always near the top, to show which other fields are picking up.
| Rank | Career field | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sales | 35%+ |
| 2 | Business Development | 35%+ |
| 3 | Account Management | 35%+ |
| 4 | Operations | 31% |
| 5 | Legal | not published |
| 6 | Communications | 30% |
| 7 | Education | 20%+ |
| 8 | Medical & Health | not published |
| 9 | HR & Recruiting | 20%+ |
| 10 | Administrative | 20%+ |
Source: FlexJobs, 10 fastest-growing careers for remote jobs, published July 24, 2026.
Overall, remote postings on FlexJobs rose 22% in Q2 2026 compared with Q1, the second quarter of growth in a row. Computer & IT grew fastest that quarter, with postings more than doubling (FlexJobs Q2 2026 Remote Work Index).
Who remote employers want
Most remote jobs are not entry-level. Of the remote postings FlexJobs tracked in Q2 2026:
| Experience level | Share of remote postings |
|---|---|
| Experienced | 65% |
| Manager | 19% |
| Senior manager | 10% |
| Entry-level | 6% |
Source: FlexJobs Q2 2026 Remote Work Index.
Competition matters too. Jobgether's index for September 2026 measured applications per posting by role family. A higher number means more people applying for each job.
| Role family | Applications per posting (index) |
|---|---|
| Software engineering | 2.26× |
| Administration & executive support | 2.22× |
| Product, design & games | 2.09× |
| Accounting & audit | 2.01× |
| Customer service & success | 1.86× |
| Banking, investment & insurance | 0.20× |
| Healthcare & life sciences | 0.19× |
Source: Jobgether Remote Work Index, postings from August 1 to September 30, 2026. The same index found B2B sales was the only role group whose remote postings grew from August to September.
Where international companies hire
Remote jobs open to people outside the US tend to go through hiring platforms like Deel and RemotePass, which pay contractors and employees in other countries. Their data shows which roles each country is hired for.
| Country | Roles companies hire for most | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | Virtual assistance, data, accounting | Deel |
| Egypt | Software, backend, frontend and QA engineers, data scientists | RemotePass |
| Colombia | Teaching, accounting, customer support | Deel |
| Argentina | Teaching, customer success, finance | Deel |
| Brazil | Finance, data, consulting | Deel |
The Philippines has the most workers on Deel's platform of any country. RemotePass's figures come from more than 35,000 contracts across 143 countries.
What this means if you are outside the US
- Pick a field with lots of openings. Customer service, sales and operations combine high volume with roles that are often open to other countries. Read why remote jobs say "US only" to spot the ones that are.
- Sales is the natural next step from support. Sales development (SDR) and account management use the same skills as customer service: clear English, written chat, CRM tools and handling objections. They are also the fastest-growing remote fields this year.
- Experience beats everything. With only 6% of remote postings aimed at beginners, show proof you can do the work. A certification, a work sample or a short video introduction helps. See remote jobs with no experience.
- Apply where your country is welcome. Our list of where to apply for remote jobs covers the boards and platforms that hire internationally.
Sources
- Robert Half, Remote work statistics and trends
- Canaria, Remote work trends
- PredictLeads, Remote tech job statistics, October 2026
- FlexJobs Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2026 (press release)
- FlexJobs 10 fastest-growing careers for remote jobs (Allwork.Space)
- FlexJobs Remote Work Index, Q2 2026 (Allwork.Space)
- Jobgether Remote Work Index
- Deel, In-demand talent hubs
- RemotePass, Hiring in emerging markets 2026