With 3.1 million people employed in the United States forestry and logging sector in 2023 and only about 39% of U.S. workers reporting they had the option to work remotely, this post breaks down what remote and hybrid work really looks like across logging related roles, wages, and the technology and security trends enabling them.
Key Takeaways
- 3.1 million people were employed in “Forestry and Logging” in the United States in 2023
- 18.6% of forestry and logging employment was concentrated in the Midwest in 2023
- 2.0% of the U.S. labor force worked in “Forestry and Logging” occupations in 2023
- The median hourly wage for Logging Workers in the U.S. was $18.85 in May 2023
- The 10th percentile hourly wage for Logging Workers was $13.62 in May 2023
- The 90th percentile hourly wage for Logging Workers was $28.90 in May 2023
- Global spending on digital transformation was projected to reach $3.4 trillion in 2024 (IDC baseline relevant to remote/hybrid enablement tools)
- Remote work was associated with saving 60 minutes per day on average due to reduced commuting time (Gallup/partner study metric)
- In 2023, Gartner reported that by 2025, 80% of software developers will adopt AI tools for software development tasks (supports remote dev productivity)
- In 2023, Gartner predicted that by 2026, 60% of new enterprise applications will be delivered via low-code or no-code (remote delivery trend metric)
- In 2023, 54% of enterprises used AI in some form to automate IT operations (remote IT support adoption metric)
- In 2024, the global video conferencing market was projected to reach $7.9 billion by 2027 (market metric for remote/hybrid tooling)
- The global unified communications market size was $74.1 billion in 2023 (market baseline for remote/hybrid communications)
- The global cloud collaboration software market was estimated at $18.2 billion in 2022 (market metric)
- In 2023, 47% of organizations used cloud-based file-sharing (enterprise adoption metric supporting remote collaboration)
In 2023, only 0.9% worked from home some time, but 39% had the remote option.
Workforce Numbers
13.1 million people were employed in “Forestry and Logging” in the United States in 2023[1]
Verified218.6% of forestry and logging employment was concentrated in the Midwest in 2023[2]
Verified32.0% of the U.S. labor force worked in “Forestry and Logging” occupations in 2023[1]
Verified41.0% of U.S. jobs were in forestry, logging, and support activities for 2023 (NAICS 113)[3]
Directional5The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for logging is 1133 (Logging)[4]
Single source6The NAICS category for Forestry and Logging combined is 113 (Forestry and Logging)[5]
Verified7Occupational Employment Projections (2022–2032) for logging roles show continued demand for “Logging Workers” (SOC-based projections).[6]
Verified8As of 2023, 0.9% of employed people reported working from home at least some of the time in the U.S. (BLS CPS survey metric)[7]
Verified9In 2023, 39% of U.S. workers reported they had the option to work remotely (Gallup metric)[8]
DirectionalWorkforce Numbers Interpretation
Even though logging and related forestry jobs make up just 1.0% of all U.S. jobs in 2023 and 2.0% of the labor force, remote work is already available to many, with 39% of workers reporting they have the option to work remotely while 0.9% actually do so at least some of the time.
Compensation & Wages
1The median hourly wage for Logging Workers in the U.S. was $18.85 in May 2023[9]
Verified2The 10th percentile hourly wage for Logging Workers was $13.62 in May 2023[9]
Verified3The 90th percentile hourly wage for Logging Workers was $28.90 in May 2023[9]
Verified4In May 2023, Logging Workers earned a median annual wage of $39,210[9]
Directional5In May 2023, the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers was $29.47 per hour (SOC-adjacent supervision roles often present in forestry operations)[10]
Single source6In May 2023, the median annual wage for First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers was $61,310[10]
Verified7In May 2023, the median annual wage for Operations Research Analysts was $86,320 (remote-suitable analytical roles common in forestry operations planning)[11]
Verified8In May 2023, the median annual wage for Software Developers was $132,930 (remote-suitable roles for logging IT/digital tools)[12]
Verified9The U.S. minimum wage in 2023 was $7.25 per hour for covered workers (labor compensation baseline)[13]
Directional10The average U.S. weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees were $1,001.13 in 2023 (BLS SES)[14]
Single source11The average hourly earnings for all private employees were $34.19 in December 2023 (BLS)[15]
Verified12The average hourly earnings for construction (often adjacent to logging-related contracting) were $32.77 in December 2023 (BLS)[15]
Verified13The average hourly earnings for manufacturing were $31.10 in December 2023 (BLS)[15]
Verified14In 2023, the U.S. labor productivity measure increased by 1.2% (impacts remote-capable planning workflows)[16]
Directional15The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported annual total compensation cost per employee of $43.65 per hour in 2023 (BLS Employment Cost Index context)[17]
Single sourceCompensation & Wages Interpretation
In May 2023, logging workers earned a median hourly wage of $18.85 while remote-suitable roles in the same ecosystem ranged from $86,320 for operations research analysts to $132,930 for software developers, underscoring a wide pay split that favors higher skill and more remote-friendly work.
Cost Analysis
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With global digital transformation spending projected to hit $3.4 trillion in 2024, remote work stands to deliver a concrete daily payoff too, saving workers about 60 minutes per day on average by cutting commuting time.
Industry Trends
1In 2023, Gartner reported that by 2025, 80% of software developers will adopt AI tools for software development tasks (supports remote dev productivity)[20]
Verified2In 2023, Gartner predicted that by 2026, 60% of new enterprise applications will be delivered via low-code or no-code (remote delivery trend metric)[21]
Verified3In 2023, 54% of enterprises used AI in some form to automate IT operations (remote IT support adoption metric)[22]
Verified4In 2023, 31% of IT outages were caused by external network security issues (incident metric in IT reliability report)[23]
DirectionalIndustry Trends Interpretation
By 2026, with 60% of new enterprise applications expected to come through low code or no code and 54% of enterprises already using AI to automate IT operations, the biggest shift is that remote enabled, AI supported delivery will accelerate while external network security is still behind 31% of IT outages.
Market Size
1In 2024, the global video conferencing market was projected to reach $7.9 billion by 2027 (market metric for remote/hybrid tooling)[24]
Verified2The global unified communications market size was $74.1 billion in 2023 (market baseline for remote/hybrid communications)[25]
Verified3The global cloud collaboration software market was estimated at $18.2 billion in 2022 (market metric)[26]
Verified4The global project management software market reached $6.62 billion in 2023 (market metric supporting remote project execution)[27]
Directional5The global identity and access management (IAM) market size was $24.12 billion in 2023 (remote security requirement market)[28]
Single source6The global secure web gateway market was estimated at $1.77 billion in 2022 (security tooling used for remote work)[29]
Verified7The global cybersecurity market was $156.24 billion in 2024 (investment context for remote/hybrid enablement)[30]
Verified8The global VPN market size was $8.7 billion in 2023 (remote connectivity tooling)[31]
Verified9The global managed services market was $333.1 billion in 2023 (outsourced IT for hybrid environments)[32]
Directional10The global ERP software market was $43.4 billion in 2023 (remote access to operational planning)[33]
Single sourceMarket Size Interpretation
With the cybersecurity market at $156.24 billion in 2024 and the video conferencing market projected to reach $7.9 billion by 2027, the data shows that logging companies are steadily scaling remote and hybrid work with rapidly expanding communications and security infrastructure.
User Adoption
1In 2023, 47% of organizations used cloud-based file-sharing (enterprise adoption metric supporting remote collaboration)[34]
Verified2In 2024, 70% of enterprises used identity governance and administration (IGA) tools (security adoption trend)[35]
Verified3In 2023, 60% of organizations had implemented a zero-trust security approach (remote security adoption metric)[36]
Verified4In 2022, 57% of organizations reported using endpoint management platforms for remote device security (security adoption metric)[37]
Directional5In 2023, 74% of organizations reported using cloud for at least some workloads (cloud adoption metric)[38]
Single source6In 2023, 27% of enterprises had migrated critical workloads to the cloud (cloud maturity metric)[39]
Verified7In 2023, 44% of knowledge workers used cloud-based storage to collaborate (collaboration tooling adoption metric)[40]
Verified8In 2023, 7% of employees worked on-site full time in Gallup’s survey (complementary to remote/hybrid categories)[8]
VerifiedUser Adoption Interpretation
In the logging industry, remote and hybrid work is clearly accelerating, with cloud adoption leading the way as 74% of organizations used cloud for some workloads in 2023 and 27% had already migrated critical workloads to the cloud.
Performance Metrics
1In 2023, 55% of breaches were due to compromised credentials (Verizon DBIR)[41]
Verified2The 2024 Verizon DBIR reported malware as a leading cause of breaches; “malware” was present in 22% of incidents (category-level DBIR metric)[41]
Verified3In 2024, ransomware was responsible for 12% of breaches in the Verizon DBIR (DBIR metric)[41]
Verified4In 2022, 47% of employees reported they feel more productive at home than at the office (survey metric)[42]
Directional5In 2022, 32% of employees reported they work more hours at home than in the office (survey metric)[42]
Single source6In 2022, 51% of employees reported improved work-life balance with remote work (survey metric)[42]
Verified7In 2022, 23% of employees reported higher job satisfaction due to remote work (survey metric)[42]
VerifiedPerformance Metrics Interpretation
Even as remote work boosts productivity and work life balance, with 47% of employees reporting improved work life balance in 2022, the security risk picture remains serious because 55% of breaches in 2023 stemmed from compromised credentials and malware appeared in 22% of incidents in the 2024 Verizon DBIR.
References
- 1bls.gov/oes/current/oesnat.htm
- 2bls.gov/oes/current/oesm13.htm
- 6bls.gov/ooh/production/logging-workers.htm
- 7bls.gov/news.release/atus.htm
- 9bls.gov/oes/current/oes452031.htm
- 10bls.gov/oes/current/oes211011.htm
- 11bls.gov/oes/current/oes212021.htm
- 12bls.gov/oes/current/oes151122.htm
- 14bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm
- 15bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm
- 16bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm
- 17bls.gov/news.release/eci.nr0.htm
- 3census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045223
- 4census.gov/naics/?input=1133&year=2022&details=1133
- 5census.gov/naics/?input=113&year=2022&details=113
- 8gallup.com/workplace/247391/work-and-workforce-remote.aspx
- 19gallup.com/workplace/349484/remote-work.aspx
- 13dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state
- 18idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US51700524
- 20gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-09-12-gartner-predicts-80-percent-of-software-developers-to-adopt-ai-tools-by-2025
- 21gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-09-25-gartner-predicts-60-percent-of-new-enterprise-applications-to-be-built-with-low-code-or-no-code
- 22gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-06-05-gartner-says-by-2026-30-percent-of-enterprise-it-will-be-supported-by-automation-and-ai
- 23gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-07-24-gartner-it-incident-trends
- 35gartner.com/en/documents/4982344
- 36gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-10-16-gartner-says-60-of-organizations-have-implemented-a-zero-trust-approach-by-2023
- 37gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-01-16-gartner-endpoint-management
- 38gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-07-31-gartner-says-74-percent-of-organizations-have-some-cloud-adoption
- 39gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-08-22-gartner-says-27-percent-of-enterprises-have-migrated-critical-workloads-to-the-cloud
- 40gartner.com/en/documents/4011866
- 24statista.com/statistics/748144/video-conferencing-market-size-worldwide/
- 25statista.com/statistics/451151/unified-communications-market-size-worldwide/
- 26statista.com/statistics/1229328/collaboration-software-market-size/
- 27statista.com/statistics/378460/project-management-software-market-size/
- 28statista.com/statistics/573437/identity-and-access-management-iam-market-size-worldwide/
- 29statista.com/statistics/1290214/secure-web-gateway-market-size/
- 30statista.com/statistics/274003/cyber-security-market-worldwide/
- 31statista.com/statistics/273718/vpn-market-size-worldwide/
- 32statista.com/statistics/278309/managed-services-market-size-worldwide/
- 33statista.com/statistics/1101223/erp-software-market-size/
- 34statista.com/statistics/949248/cloud-storage-adoption-curve-by-business-size/
- 41verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
- 42owllabs.com/remote-work-statistics