"These cities in Texas do great on all metrics: robust job markets, good amenities, and relatively affordable housing," Asad Khan, a senior economist with Redfin, stated.
Europe's freelance market has been expanding steadily, but the post-layoff acceleration is notable. According to a 2024 report from Malt, the number of highly skilled freelancers in tech across the EU grew by 18% year-over-year, with a sharp uptick among professionals who had been in full-time roles for five or more years before making the switch.
One year ago, commercial real estate behemoth CBRE acquired Industrious, a flexible office company that opened its first space in 2013 and grew at an impressive pace in the aftermath of the pandemic. At the time, CBRE said in a release that Industrious' success was "the result of an ongoing investment into understanding what makes for a great workplace, paired with continuous operational improvement."
In the past week, automaker Stellantis and retailer Home Depot became the latest major companies to call employees back to the office five days a week. They join employers like Instagram, Paramount and Amazon in recent return-to-office mandates. About one-third of all U.S. firms (34%) are requiring workers to be in the office full time, according to workforce insight provider Flex Index.
Flexible working is a hot topic that's rapidly making its way into the SME (small-medium-sized enterprise) market, especially after covid and all its repercussions on businesses Due to covid-19, many small to medium businesses have had to disband their in-house team, and those that were left working found themselves at home. This was especially prevalent in industries like social media advertising agencies, customer services relations, online-focused eCommerce brands and B2B businesses.
