Upwork (Nasdaq: UPWK), the leading online talent solution, released a new report, “When Work Goes Remote,” from Upwork Chief Economist, Adam Ozimek. With remote work on the rise as companies adapt to the changing times of COVID-19, many question the larger implications of remote work on the economy. Using data from Upwork and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the report finds remote work has the potential to help reduce the growing wage gap, and ease some of the housing, traffic and inequality issues that come with market concentration, by spreading economic opportunity across the U.S.
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“Instead of businesses and professionals concentrating in a handful of cities, remote work can help spread opportunities and increase pay to professionals across the U.S.”
Over the past few decades, businesses and opportunities have become increasingly concentrated in a handful of expensive cities. The spread of wages between these high-priced metros compared to the rest is nearly 40%, meaning two people doing the exact same job in different parts of the country will earn very different wages. This is in large part due to the high cost of living in some of the country’s top metros and the necessity to live near work. The broad adoption of remote work, however, presents a structural change to this equation.
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“Remote work has the potential to help lean against the wage and opportunity gap that has been steadily growing for decades across the U.S.” said Adam Ozimek, Upwork Chief Economist. “Instead of businesses and professionals concentrating in a handful of cities, remote work can help spread opportunities and increase pay to professionals across the U.S.”
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