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workforce confidence

The Cities With The Highest (and Lowest) Workforce Confidence

The coronavirus has hit cities in waves. Some are thriving, while others are seeing a spike in cases, and as a result, a higher unemployment rate. Over the last eight long months, workers’ confidence in their finances, job stability, and long-term career prospects have fluctuated. LinkedIn’s most recent Workforce Confidence Index surveyed over 33,000 people across the country and examined their confidence in their current and future career outlooks. Here are the cities with the highest (and lowest) workforce confidence.

 The ten most confident cities

The workforce confidence for some cities is strong, with Colorado Springs, CO, Provo, UT, and Tampa, FL leading the way. Many of these top ten cities are in the Sunbelt, which is currently benefiting from steady population growth. These markets are emerging as logistics hubs with new construction, creating thousands of jobs, and attracting both employers and job seekers to these areas. An interesting note is that none of the cities in the top ten are major metro markets, such as New York City, Seattle, or LA.

Here are the top 10 most confident cities, according to LinkedIn:

workforce confidence

The ten least confident cities

On the other side of the coin, workforce confidence in larger, more industrial cities in the Midwest and Westside are feeling much less confident in their career outlooks. Tucson, AZ, Milwaukee, WI, and Las Vegas are cities with notable lower confidence ratings. These are all cities that are lagging behind the rest of the country’s recovery rates.

An intriguing note is that the least confident cities all have unemployment rates above the national average. For example, Nevada’s unemployment rate is 12.4%, which is no surprise given the tourism business generated by Las Vegas.

Here is a list of the least confident cities:

  • Tucson, AZ
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Grand Rapids, MI
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Chicago, IL
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Portland, OR
  • Austin, TX
  • Orlando, FL
  • Sacramento, CA

Some states have a better environment for the pandemic

Naturally, some states were better suited to the social and economic changes that were brought on by the pandemic. One of these is a new trend in outdoor seating for bars and restaurants. Restaurants, pubs, and eateries can have a larger capacity, and therefore, more business with outside seating accommodations. This trend has forced many restaurants to shift their space to allow more outdoor seating. However, with cold weather well on its way, it will be harder for some cities to continue this trend. As a result, this will make it harder for some of these local businesses to survive.

In the end, this list will fluctuate as some cities and states overcome the obstacles caused by the pandemic better than others. It will be interesting to see how these cities adjust in the fourth quarter and into the new year.

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