🇺🇸 DC: the future of remote work in America

Good Morning,

Let’s start with a job board update. Last week there were 7 companies in the energy industry with ~110 openings. After some internet scouring, the job board now contains 26 energy industry companies with 432 remote openings.

The industry itself isn’t nearly as remote as others, as mentioned last week (vs. consulting, IT, healthcare, etc.), which makes remote energy opportunities more difficult to find. But the industry’s recent stability might be appealing for those looking for remote roles.

Need to know

Last month, we told you about the occupations with the highest percentage of remote jobs. (#1: Computer & Mathematical, 34%)

Last week, we told you about the industries with the highest percentage of remote jobs. (#1: Management & Consulting, 19%)

Now let’s talk about the US city with the highest proportion of remote workers: Washington, D.C. (48%).

The city’s shift has been drastic, captured in this Washington Post poll.

• Before 2020, 30% of remote-capable workers were working remotely at least 2 days per week

• Today, 81% of remote-capable workers are working remotely at least 2 days per week

And perhaps the most important poll question asked about work preferences among today’s remote-capable workers:

A staggering majority, 96%, of remote-capable workers in D.C. want to work from home at least “some of the time.”

Sound familiar? Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work report had a similar poll question and result, but only 19% of poll respondents lived the US; it was primarily an international audience.

That’s why these Washington Post results are so exciting - it confirms that today’s remote-capable workers in the United States will continue to advocate for and seek out location flexibility in their jobs.

While it may take other US cities a little while to get to DC’s remote levels, we can be confident that those cities will see similar remote work preferences among residents.

So what have we learned from the three studies we’ve covered recently?

If you want to boost your chances of landing a remote job, you should aim for a “computer and mathematical” occupation, in the “management & consulting” industry, and move to Washington, D.C. 😂

Elsewhere

• Remote or Comply: anti-remote work propaganda (Hacker Noon)

• NYC Mayor is facing reality on WFH rules (NY Mag)

• JPMorgan requires managing directors to be in-office five days per week (CNN)

• Remote work takes layoffs into uncharted territory (Becker’s Hospital Review)

• Boomer who quit his six-figure job to avoid RTO says managers felt threatened by remote work (Insider)

I listened to an interesting Planet Money podcast episode yesterday.

Most people expect interest rates to gradually increase as they have in the past year, but the hosts and one guest economist discussed arguments that interest rates will go back down soon.

And while it wasn’t mentioned in the episode, lower interest rates would likely lead to increased personnel investments and more job openings. If that happens, companies will be forced to accommodate more flexible arrangements, sooner.

While there’s no easy way to predict these changes, it’s one scenario in which the US could shift further remote even faster than expected.

Cheers,
Grant