Mobility Data Shows U.S. and UK Workers Still Travel to Work Less Than Pre-Lockdowns

It has been more than 18 months since the start of the pandemic and many people have still not gone back to the office. There was hope the fall would bring people back, but according to Google mobility data travel to work the U.S., UK, Australia, and France is still down more than 20% from pre-pandemic levels. South Koreans are mostly back to work, though then never really left. Australians went back some last year, but today, with new lock-downs, they aren't going into the office either. Some of the blame goes to the Delta variant, though if more people work from home, the number of people traveling to the office may never recover. 

Source: Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports

Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.

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