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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 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?
Bottom Line: 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. This might take some by surprise given California’s lockdowns and perception of being on the leading edge of technology. Flexjobs tracks remote workers across the country. According to their tracker, Florida has 6% of the total workforce working remotely, we rank seventh in the percentage of remote workers and first 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? Within all of Florida’s municipalities, seven South Florida cities are among the top 20 in the percentage of the population working remotely. They're Deerfield Beach, Miami, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami Beach, and Delray Beach. With Florida being the leading large state with remote workers and South Florida leading within our state, we’re set up for whatever the future holds in this regard better than anywhere. Ironically, the state is helping lead the state in this regard. The third-largest employer of remote workers that are headquartered in Florida, is the state of Florida.
As for what incomes and outcomes look like relative to other jobs? You hit the nail on the head with your thought that remote work might lead to better outcomes for most employees relative to many of the jobs lost due to the pandemic in Florida.
The average full-time income for remote workers in Florida according to Ziprecruiter is currently $79,049 annually. That compares to an average of $51,908 for all professions in Florida and $44,079 for the hospitality/service sector. It’s clear that an increase in remote work is also coinciding with an improvement in incomes. The remote work story in Florida is as good as it gets in the country currently and continued growth would likely lead to improved earnings for those making the transition to it, within our state.
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