The digital economy is being defined by new work arrangements.
Hybrid and remote models have become popular within digital careers as these jobs heavily rely on computers and other devices to operate. However, another unspoken perk that comes with the digital economy is the labor opportunities provided for neglected regions.
More and more, these jobs are losing their geographical requirements, allowing nearly anyone to participate in the digital economy.
According to February 2020 LinkedIn job posting analysis, just 2.3% of positions offered remote work, but as of February 2022, this number made up 19.5% of postings.
This is likely because remote work is accessible to many more people, so long as they have reliable Wi-Fi. This means living in smaller towns or suburbs is no longer seen as a disadvantage to career growth.
Now, the interest gap in digital economy between rural and urban regions has shrunk to 30% of its pre-pandemic rates. This coincides with the Great Migration, a trend in which city dwellers moved to smaller towns to escape the high cost and density of superstar cities.
Research from the Harvard Business Review shows that job searches within the digital economy on Bing have become more frequent, with interest jumping 15% from pre-pandemic levels.
In fact, the last two years saw nearly six years of digital economic growth as the world became reliant on these tools and services to operate amidst societal uncertainty.
As a result of this trend, the digital economy can expect to see a major geographic expansion as workers from all over the country and world have a chance to participate within this industry, perhaps for the first time ever.