Q&A Of The Day – Could Florida’s Job Market Be Stronger Due To The Pandemic? Part 1
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email:brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Parler & Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Today’s entry: Brian, I don’t mean to be insensitive to those who’ve lost jobs due to the pandemic, but I’ve been wondering about whether Floridians will wind up better off in the end. Most of the lost jobs were in lower paying industries in the service sector. It appears more better paying jobs have been coming back as Florida’s unemployment rate has been dropping. With remote working allowing employees to work for companies located outside of where they live, are we seeing more Floridians work remotely in better paying jobs? I’m not sure if there’s a way to answer that question but if there is I thought you’d be able to figure it out.
Bottom Line: Actually, there is a way to answer this question and you’ve made an instructive point. On March 30th, I brought you the story For most Floridians there’s no place like (working) from home. That story was predominantly about Floridians who’d made the transition to remote work who wanted to remain working remotely. In the story 64% of people who’d made the transition to remote work didn’t want to go back to a physical location for work and 30% of those working remotely were willing to quit their current job to find another that would allow them to work remotely. Aside from the prospects of potential higher compensation that may come with remote work over some of the harder hit hospitality and service sector jobs, we all know how brutal South Florida’s traffic often is, and how much money in addition to time can be saved by not having to pay for gas to sit in it. So, what about it? Where does Florida rank with remote working?
Florida’s among the leaders in the country regarding the percentage of the workforce who’re working remotely and we’re the leading large state in the country – which might take some by surprise given California’s lockdowns and perception for being on the leading edge of technology. Flexjobs tracks remote workers across the country. According to their tracker here’s how Florida ranks:
- 6% of the total workforce that’s remote
- 7thin the percentage of remote workers
- #1 for remote workers for states with a population over 5 million
In other words, only small states have had a higher percentage of their workforces convert to the remote work model. Floridians have clearly been benefiting more than any other state from this transition during the pandemic. And where is it happening within our state? Predominantly South Florida which isn’t a surprise. What cities specifically? I’ll address that in second part of today’s Q&A.