increasingly concentrated in those cities. Despite this concentration of jobs in metropolitan areas, workers not only have become increasingly reluctant to move into large cities, but are also leaving large cities at higher rates due to continued rising costs of living and lengthy commutes.
The Labor Market Remains Inefficient
Labor markets remain fragmented and local, and the increasing specialization of work has further reduced availability of talent in local labor markets. As a result, hiring processes can last several months, which is costly to businesses, workers, and the economy. In the United States alone, employers made an average of approximately 178,800 hires per day in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Despite this volume of hiring, as of April 2018, the average time taken to fill a job vacancy in the United States was over 31 working days, according to DHI Group. Increasing restrictions on immigration and insufficient availability of visas for skilled workers are expected to make it even harder to find specialized skills.
