One in five (20 per cent) Canadians reported working from home in May 2023, declining slightly from 22 per cent in May 2022 and 24 per cent in May 2021, according to a survey by Statistics Canada.
It found 15.9 million employees commuted to a location outside the home for work, up five per cent from 2022 and up 26 per cent from 2021.
Read: 80% of employees don’t want to return to office daily post-pandemic: survey
The national increase in the number of commuters followed a notable drop recorded during the coronavirus pandemic, the survey said, adding some regions, such as the metropolitan area of Toronto, saw a faster increase than others.
The percentage of workers with a long car commute — lasting 60 minutes or more — increased 52 per cent from 2021 to 2023. There were also 1.4 million workers with long commutes across all modes of transportation, up 12.8 per cent from the previous year and 54 per cent higher than in 2021, but lower than 2016 (1.5 million).
Read: Offering commuting perks part of post-pandemic planning for employers