Workers may want to stay remote, but employers want them in the office—and more job postings insist on just that, making fully remote (and sought-after) gigs harder to come by.
Catch up: Major corporations leading the return-to-work charge include Disney, Twitter, and many of Canada’s largest banks and corporate law firms.
What happened: In what’s been called the “great mismatch,” the demand for remote jobs is near all-time highs while companies roll back pandemic-era work-from-home policies.
- As of last month, 50% of job applications on LinkedIn were for remote positions, which now make up only 15% of job listings, according to a report by the company.
- The gap between the demand for in-person jobs and workers willing to actually work those jobs is four times as high as it is for remote work, per The Washington Post.
Why it matters: According to Bloomberg, the labour market is still tight and employees continue to hold leverage in negotiations, but LinkedIn chief economist Karin Kimbrough said in a report that “this power balance is likely to start levelling out in the coming months.”
- 30% of Canadians worked remotely last year (compared to 4% in 2016), so it may be wishful thinking on managers’ part to think they can get everyone back at their desks.
Zoom out: As aggressive interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada continue to slow the economy, Canada’s record-low unemployment rates are expected to tick up. This scenario may leave job seekers a touch more flexible around increasingly inflexible work policies.