Hiring Shifts From Local to National
“A rising tide lifts all boats” is a phrase appropriated by President Kennedy to justify some of his economic policies. Today, it might be applied to some segments of remote work.
The exodus from the office brought on by the pandemic resulted in many employees choosing to work from home. Still, others chose to work in another town.
In some instances, remote workers kept their high salaries when they moved from high-cost cities to less expensive areas. In other cases, salaries were adjusted somewhat to reflect the lower cost of living. However, the trend has resulted in rising salaries in those lower-cost cities.
Tech Jobs Lead the Way
Many technical companies had a history of work flexibility even before the pandemic. As a result, it welcomed remote work more readily than other industries.
Now, tech’s support of remote work has begun to lift salaries in areas outside tech hotspots, such as Silicone Valley.
Carta, a compensation platform, reports that pay for tech jobs in Washington, D.C. has about caught up with those in San Francisco. Before the pandemic, tech jobs in D.C. were paying almost 15 percent lower than in San Francisco.
In addition, Carta’s report says tech salaries in Boulder, CO, Austin, TX, and Chicago, IL have all jumped to within 10 percent of San Francisco’s compensation.
The rise of salaries for remote workers in remote locations is sparking a trend. Companies no longer look for talent close to home. In addition, remote locations are now recruiting remote workers.
Cities Targeting Remote Workers
Smaller communities and big cities alike have traditionally recruited businesses in order to create jobs and increase the tax base. However, with the shift to remote hiring, many communities are recruiting individuals.
In Alabama, remote workers can get $10,000 for relocating to an area of the state where home prices are less than half the national average, according to Flexjobs.
Tulsa Remote has recruited over 1,700 remote workers since 2018. It offers a grant of up to $10,000, a monthly stipend, a remote workspace, and community events to help new residents get acclimated.
The Ascend West Virginia program pays $12,000 toward a home purchase and throws in a year of free outdoor recreation.
In Southwest Michigan, the Move to Michigan program is offering $15,000 toward the purchase of a home and $5,000 in incentives for enrolling children in public schools.
Conclusion
The old days of workers being tied to a headquarters location are ending for many tech and white-collar businesses. As a result, companies have a greater opportunity to hire from a national talent pool rather than just local prospects.
Employees working remotely increasingly have the chance to choose where they work and live.
Many communities that have not been able to recruit a company now may be able to recruit individual workers. As a result, jobs may be added to those communities and their tax bases expanded.
Payment By Paycheck
A growing crop of lenders is expanding a payment method originated by the military over a century ago. The practice sets up repayment of a loan or credit purchase by taking money directly from your paycheck.
This sort of payment plan began with the United States military in the late 19th century. It expanded to all federal employees in the 1960s. However, it is now spreading to the private sector.
Employee Benefit
One of the major players in this segment of the lending industry is Kashable. It markets its service as an employee benefit. That is smart positioning since your employer has to agree to the plan. Another company promoting these plans is OneBlinc.
This pay by paycheck program requires your employer to take a specified portion of your paycheck and send it to the finance company at the same time you are paid. As a result, the lender is assured of getting paid. In addition, you are assured of having no further say in the matter.
Customers of Least Resources
There is nothing morally or legally wrong with these plans. However, their clients are usually people on the financial edge.
A regularly paying job is the main qualification for a loan. Kashable, which markets primarily to federal employees, considers credit history in approving a loan. However, OneBlinc does not.
“At Blinc, we don’t believe in credit scores,” OneBlinc co-founder Fabio Torelli told the Associated Press when the company launched in 2019. Income and job history are the qualifiers.
Product Lenders
In addition to personal loans repaid through paycheck deduction, you can finance retail purchases the same way. Two companies, payrolljewelry.com and purchasingpower.com operate in that market segment.
Payrolljewelry focuses on selling jewelry while purchasing power offers a variety of products from cosmetics to furniture and major appliances.
In most cases, paycheck loans are not the best solution for purchases or to handle an unexpected expenses. However, such financing may be a life raft for people who need money in an emergency. The downside is that interest rates are usually high. For example, interest on OneBlinc loans can top out at 35.9 percent.
On the plus side, paycheck loans can help rebuild or establish credit. Most such loan companies report your loan history to the major credit bureaus.
Virtual Real Estate Bubble Bursts
The harsh reality of financial problems in the physical world, plus a decline in crypto markets has led to a virtual bursting of the metaverse real estate bubble.
Virtual land prices have dropped 85 percent across six major Ethereum projects, reports Cointelegraph. That is a decline from an average price per parcel of $17,000 in January to about $2,500 this month.
WeMeta, a company that follows Ethereum-based metaverse transactions, has slightly different figures. However, it records a similar decline in digital land prices. It shows virtual land prices dropping from $32,191 in November to $5,930 last week.
How It Works
Digital land is purchased through platforms such as Sandbox and Decentraland. Both of those platforms are built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Investors and companies buy Metaverse land as an NFT. That land, like physical land, can be developed with buildings, houses, stadiums, performance venues, or anything else that can be imagined. Those developed virtual properties can then be sold on NFT exchanges.
Large companies such as Atari, Samsung, Miller Lite, and even accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers have bought land in the Metaverse.
Cuban Smokes Digital Real Estate
Not everyone has been on the virtual land grab bandwagon.
Crypto enthusiast and one of the fixtures on NBC’s “Shark Tank”, Mark Cuban graphically trashed digital land as an investment last week.
“The worst part is that people are buying real estate in these places. That’s just the dumbest s**t ever,” Cuban said on Altcoin Daily’s YouTube channel.
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