About 16% of workers across Nebraska were remote last May, but that dropped to 8% in the first two months of 2021, according to new data from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research.

Remote work rates for Nebraska have been similar to national trends since the start of the pandemic, the university said in a news release.

The mix of industries in Nebraska can help explain the rate of remote work. Industries more likely to go remote were finance, insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services. Less likely to transition to remote work were accommodation and food service, agriculture, retail trade, construction, and arts and entertainment.

Notably, the industries that are less able to transition to remote work were also the industries where, on average, salaries are below the Nebraska median income of $40,000.

“The economic pain of the pandemic was mostly felt by our lower-wage workers, who were less likely to have remote work options and were more likely to be laid off due to COVID-19 shutdowns,” CPAR Director Josie Schafer said in a release.

This new workforce data was presented at the Nebraska Data Users Conference Series, a longstanding annual event hosted by the UNO center.