LinkedIn released a report about the so called Zoomtowns – great locations for remote workers, and these locations that are home to a disproportionate number of remote job applicants. Quoting from TechRepublic:
Telecommuter opportunities represented nearly one-third of all U.S. job postings on LinkedIn last month, according to the company, compared to 9.8% one year prior and 2.8% before the onset of COVID-19 in January 2020. Nationally, 21.3% of applications on LinkedIn were remote job applications between August 2020 and August 2021, per the post.
From August 2020 to August 2021, the percentage of remote job applications in Bend, Oregon was 41.8%, which is nearly double the national average, making the scenic Beaver State mountain town the top small city listed. The other five smaller cities include Asheville, North Carolina (38.7%), Wilmington, Delaware (35.9%), Johnson City, Tennessee (35.2%) and Eugene, Oregon (34.9%).
Many professionals still appear to favor bustling metropolitan areas. Among larger cities, Cape Coral, Florida (33.1%), Charleston, South Carolina (31.6%) and the Tampa Bay area (29.6%), Florida round out the top three, according to LinkedIn, followed by Jacksonville, Florida (29.4%), Orlando, and Hampton Roads, Virginia (28.1%), in order.
While we’re looking at staffing, some interesting data out of the UK around skills and employment. 45% of those surveyed are planning to change jobs in the next six months, and 62% have already had an interview. Why looking? Lack of career prospects at their existing employer (22%), as well as the longer hours racked up when working remotely (46%) and having to work during holidays as a result of the pandemic (34%).
As for the office… The employee bounce rate went up slightly in August and the number of people coming into the office three or four times a week dropped to under 10%, according to data collected by Robin. Bounce rate is the percentage of employees coming into the office one and not returning for the rest of the month.
So, you can find people in very different places than you might consider… the ones you have are probably looking.. and they aren’t in the office. I’m clearly approaching dead horse beating territory with perspective of instability in the employment market. That’s simply the headline. The details are what matter – can you hire anywhere? Which anywhere? Timezones are still a thing, and recruiting may require some location focus. One third of all job listings last month is a lot of remote employees, and a lot of opportunities for your own employees to consider.
This is a bit more detail about the landscape – you can go specific with some of these data points, or simply track the overall trend.