Snapshots

Remote positions decline to lowest share of new job postings in three years

September 20, 2023

Contributors:

As over one million U.S. office-based employees see return-to-office directives take effect in September, companies are also pivoting away from hiring remote-based positions: the share of LinkedIn job postings listed as remote has declined to just 9.1% over the past two months, the lowest level since late 2020 and less than half the share of jobs listed as remote in early 2022.

Widespread remote work has been attributed as a contributor to lagging productivity and innovation, and as labor markets have softened executives have taken advantage of increased leverage to encourage or mandate greater office attendance over the course of 2023.

Additional incremental progress for office attendance is slated to persist for the remainder of the year: federal government agencies remain under pressure to increase office attendance, and private sector employers continue to strengthen attendance policies even after Labor Day, with IBM this month extending an attendance mandate to segments of its software employees that had previously been exempt.

Continued momentum for return-to-office is increasing the likelihood that companies which cut office footprints during the pandemic while maintaining or growing their headcounts may face space shortages.

Net effective office rents have increased since the pandemic in most major CBDs

Sun Belt markets are exceeding 98% of pre-pandemic office leasing volume over the past six months

In-office policies drive stronger stock market performance