The remote work boom that defined the pandemic years is settling into a new normal. According to fresh ZipRecruiter data, nearly every state has seen declines in remote job listings as companies pull workers back to the office.

Some states are harder hit than others. Massachusetts saw the steepest drop—remote postings fell more than 35% from early 2023 to early 2024. But not everyone is retreating: Louisiana actually bucked the trend, posting a 7.2% increase in remote listings during the same period.

Nationwide, the picture is more balanced. About 11.7% of all U.S. job listings were remote in the first half of 2024, roughly flat compared to 2023, but down from the pandemic-era peak of 13.7% in 2022. That’s still well above 2019, when just 4.3% of jobs offered remote work.

Federal Workers: Back to the Office in Force

Nowhere has the change been more dramatic than in the federal government. Gallup data show that as of Q2 2025, nearly 46% of federal employees in Washington, D.C. are now fully onsite. That’s more than double the national average (21%)—and more than triple the low point of 14% in early 2022.

Hybrid arrangements, once the dominant setup, have plummeted. In late 2024, about 61% of federal employees worked in a hybrid model. By mid-2025, that number dropped to just 28%, as agencies enforced stricter on-site requirements under new White House direction.

The Trump administration’s directive gave federal workers a stark choice: return to the office or resign with nearly a year’s worth of pay and benefits. Many opted to leave. OPM Director Scott Kupor projects the federal workforce will shrink by around 300,000 employees in 2025, largely from voluntary resignations.

Federal Employee Work Arrangements (Gallup Data)

Period	Fully On Site	Hybrid	Fully Remote
Q1 2022	14%	~70%	~16%
End of 2024	~20%	61%	~19%
Q2 2025	46%	28%	~26%

Industry Snapshot

Tech has been a major driver of disappearing remote roles. Nearly half of tech jobs were fully remote after 2020, but layoffs at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Tesla have shrunk opportunities, especially in California. Non-tech industries, by contrast, have been steadier in their approach to remote offerings.

The Big Picture

Remote work hasn’t disappeared—it’s just found a middle ground: higher than before COVID, lower than the 2021–2022 highs. Some employers, like Yelp, have leaned in by closing offices entirely. Others, like Apple, Amazon, and JPMorgan, are doubling down on office-first policies. For federal employees, the shift back onsite has been sharp and disruptive, even reshaping the size of the workforce itself.