On Thursday, January 14, the Department of Labor released updated employment numbers. Another 965,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the past seven days. This may be due to the seasonal holiday jobs ending at many retail establishments. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the American economy and jobs market. About 33% of Americans are still working remotely 100% of the time, and another 25% of Americans are working remotely at least part of the time. About 62% of Americans said they would take a pay cut if they could work from home. In order to stay safe and lessen their risk of infection, many people are turning to remote work that they can do from home or even while traveling the United States. Here are some of the top-paying remote jobs and what you need to do to get one of them.

Information Technology

A shift to digital solutions and services has increased the demand for remote information technology professionals who are able to develop, design and support new software and apps. Most of these jobs can be done 100% from home. They have average to strong salaries and benefits. Some of the jobs in this category include network architect, information security manager, cloud engineer and software developer. All of these jobs have average to much faster than average job growth, and their demand is expected to stay strong.

Finance and Math Jobs

The finance and insurance sector has not endured the large numbers of layoffs that other industries endured since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the highest-paying jobs in math and finance that can be done on a remote basis include data scientist, statistician, actuary and financial manager. All of these jobs have higher than average salaries and much higher than average rates of expected growth.

Business Jobs

Many white-collar jobs can be done from home. In the business industry, people working in sales director, human resources director, marketing director and business development management can all work remotely most or all of the time. These jobs have higher than average salaries and average rates of expected growth.

Location Matters

The place where you live impacts your ability to find a remote job. If there is a tight labor market, this will cause employers in your area to look for remote workers who live in other places. On the other hand, you could fill one of those vacancies if you live in an area with a poor job market and have the skills and education to fill a role in a place with a lot of jobs that are going unfulfilled. If employers in one city know that they have to pay workers there a premium, they're more likely to consider workers who live in remote locations. They could pay those remote workers less. This would save the business a lot of money.

Challenges Faced By Businesses

Some occupations have a dearth of qualified candidates. One example is software publishing. This industry is growing, and there aren't enough people with the right qualifications to take the jobs in some locations. In Boston, companies are hiring more remote workers. This job pays a median annual salary of $160,000 in Boston, but in Atlanta, the same job pays a median annual salary of $149,000. If the Boston firm hires a worker in Atlanta to do the job remotely, they could offer $149,000 as the salary. This would be fair for the worker, and the company would save $11,000 per year.

Developing the Skills to Land a Remote Job That Pays Well

Information technology professionals who have been in the field for a long time should consider learning new tools so that they can access more opportunities. Their experience will go a long way in landing them a job, but they also need to have relevant skills for today's economy. Most certifications can be done online, so getting the right credentials and learning new workflow solutions and tools will be fairly easy for a person who has the motivation to do so.

What Employers Want in a Remote Worker

Managers aren't always thrilled about hiring a remote worker. The onus is on the employee to show why it's a good idea. Prospective employees will need to show that they're responsible and can manage their time well if they are able to do the job as a remote worker.