The best efforts of corporate leaders seem to have failed as remote work continues to grow in popularity in some of America’s largest cities.
Key Details
- New data from Stanford University shows that the number of remote-work job listings in several major U.S. cities is growing, Bloomberg reports.
- New York, Chicago, and Atlanta especially have more remote openings than in the past three years.
- The growing number of available openings pushes back against the wishes of company leaders like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and even New York Mayor Eric Adams, who want employees back in the office.
- More recent data from security firm Kastle Systems shows that employees are not returning to the office at the expected levels, and buildings remain empty.
Why it’s news
Fewer employees in the office could cause problems for commercial real-estate owners, especially during a time of upset in the banking industry. Property values have declined since fewer businesses need large office spaces, leaving building owners stuck with large, unprofitable buildings.
Cities with significant white-collar workforce populations have higher rates of remote work or hybrid job listings, Bloomberg reports.
Southern states are less likely to have remote work listings. In Bradenton, Florida, fewer than 3% of posted jobs have a remote work option. Lansing, Michigan, has the highest rate of available remote jobs. Around 39% of job openings have a remote opportunity.
The move toward remote in certain industries may also accelerate a shift away from “company towns,” where a certain industry is centralized in one city or area of the company. The New York finance industry is an ongoing example of this.
If the job market weakens, companies’ willingness to provide remote or hybrid options could fade in the next several months. Already the tech industry is beginning to get a taste of this change of heart.
San Jose, California, is home to many tech workers, yet the number of listings with remote options available has declined from 20% in December to 15% in February.
Backing up a bit
Economic uncertainty and continued layoffs have somewhat shifted the advantage to employers—but experts say that talented workers will retain the upper hand for the next five years.
As layoffs from major tech companies send waves through the industry, company leaders have tried to take back the bargaining power employees controlled during the pandemic.
Meta Platforms and Amazon recently announced new pushes to bring workers back to the office, assuming the uncertain job market will make workers more willing to comply, Fortune reports.
However, a LinkedIn survey of thousands of recruiters found that 64% think the advantage will remain with employees for at least the next five years.