August 15, 2003

 

Number of At-Home Workers Continues Decline in North Dakota

During the past several decades, the number and proportion of workers 16 years and older who work at home in North Dakota have declined dramatically, largely reflecting a drop in the number of family farmers throughout the state.

According to the latest Population Bulletin released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, between 1960 and 1980 the proportion of at-home workers in North Dakota dropped in half each decade; from one in three in 1960 to one in five in 1970 to one in ten in 1980. The last two decades have shown a continued trend of decline, however, in much smaller intervals. Even so, North Dakota had the third largest proportion of at-home workers in the nation in 2000, behind only South Dakota and Montana (6.5 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively). Nationally, 3.3 percent of workers work at home.

"These data suggest that the information age has had little consequence, thus far, in changing the pattern of work in North Dakota. The majority of at-home workers in our state are farmers/ranchers followed by child care providers. The at-home occupations typically associated with the information age, such as computer systems design, financial investment or direct selling, account for less than 5 percent of those working at home in 2000," said Richard Rathge, director of the Data Center.

In contrast to the state’s overall downward trend, eleven counties within the state showed an increase in the proportion of at-home workers between 1990 and 2000.

It is important to note that data on at-home workers provided by the decennial census represent conservative estimates. In the decennial census, respondents were asked how they usually get to work, with "work at home" listed along with several other means of transportation. Those who used several "means" of getting to work, either in the same week or in the same day, had to opt for the mode "most often" used or "which covered the longest distance." Other surveys aimed at addressing home-based workers use different definitions and provide varying results. For a detailed explanation of the various estimates available, visit http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70_78.pdf .

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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