In 2025, 25% of all employed persons in Germany reported working from home even occasionally. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday, this figure was slightly higher than in 2024, which saw 24% working from home occasionally, and 23% in 2023.
This means that in the last year, the proportion of employed people working from home returned to the level seen during the COVID-19 year of 2021. However, comparing this to the pre-pandemic level of 2019, when only 13% of employed people worked from home occasionally, highlights how established remote work has become.
Nonetheless, the scope of working from home in 2025 was less extensive than during the pandemic years. For instance, only a quarter (24%) of home office users reported working exclusively from home, similar to the previous year. Furthermore, 46% of employees who utilized home office work did so for less than half of their working days, which was also the case in 2024. In contrast, during the pandemic-influenced year of 2021, the proportion of advanced home office utilization was much higher: 40% of users worked fully from home, while 31% worked from home less often than at the workplace.
How frequently individuals work from home is influenced by several factors, such as company size or employment age. The percentage of employees working from home increases with the size of the company: 19% of employed people worked from home in small companies (up to 49 employees), rising to 23% in medium-sized companies (50 to 249 employees). The highest rate was observed in large companies with at least 250 employees, where 35% of staff worked from home.
Among employed persons who occasionally work remotely in 2025, the 35- to 44-year-olds reported the highest rate at 30%, followed by the 25- to 34-year-olds with 28%. The least frequent usage was seen among the 15- to 24-year-olds (10%) and 55- to 64-year-olds (22%). Different personal and professional factors may play a role here; for example, professional training may limit remote work options for younger employees, while the need to balance private commitments with work in middle age can lead to greater use of home office facilities.
The sector of activity also strongly dictates the frequency of working from home. IT services, administration and business management, and consulting showed the highest rates in 2025, with nearly three-quarters (74%) of employees in each sector working from home at least occasionally. The information services sector, along with insurance, reinsurance, and pension funds, reported a usage rate of about two-thirds (68%). Conversely, the gastronomy sector reported the lowest rates, with only 6% of employees able to perform their jobs from home. Professions such as facility management or landscaping/garden work (7%), car trade and repair (10%), and retail (10%) were also seldom done from home.
Adding to this, the rate of working from home in Germany in 2025 was slightly above the average for the 27 European Union member states. According to the EU statistical agency Eurostat, across the EU, an average of 23% of all employed persons aged 15 and over reported working from home occasionally. The highest EU rates were recorded in the Netherlands (52%), Sweden (45%), and Luxembourg (43%). The fewest employees worked from home in Romania and Bulgaria (both 4%), and Greece (7%).
