While warehousing and ecommerce jobs are steadily increasing in most parts of the country, rural areas are particularly hard hit by the struggles of the retail sector.
Andrew Flowers shares news of recent research by Indeed, a job posting website, that decribes the negative effects of the struggling retail market as particularly damaging in rural areas.
As far as retail jobs are concerned, the rural/urban split is stark. Retail job gains have lagged overall job growth in urban counties of large metropolitan areas, but such jobs are actually declining in rural counties and small metros. Retail jobs fell 1.1% year-over-year in rural America in the quarter ending in June 2017–even as these jobs were still growing nationwide.
On the other side of the retail coin, ecommerce and warehousing jobs are growing in most parts of the country. "What’s more, the boom in warehousing jobs is remarkably consistent in both rural and urban areas," according to Flowers.
Indeed isn't the only organization sounding alarms about retail employment. Flowers explains:
Similar research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York confirms this picture. It showed that, between 2012 and 2016, department store jobs, a subset of all retail jobs, dropped in about 75% of counties studied. Meanwhile, a majority of those counties saw growth in ecommerce, that is, nonstore jobs. Combining department store and nonstore retailers, net jobs fell in about 80 percent of counties.
FULL STORY: Retail Jobs Decline Hits Rural America Hardest
Retail Apocalypse Blazes New Trails
The demise of a beloved outdoors gear chain in Southern California suggests that no store is safe in America's high-priced cities.
Did the Supreme Court End the 'Retail Apocalypse'?
The decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair certainly didn't hurt traditional retailers, but they're still going to have to help themselves in the face of competition from online retail.
No More Toys R Us, Kids
Toys R Us will shut down all its remaining stores in the final blow of a process that began with bankruptcy filing in September 2017.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Tenant Advocates: Rent Gouging Rampant After LA Wildfires
The Rent Brigade says it's found evidence of thousands of likely instances of rent gouging. In some cases, the landlords accused of exploiting the fires had made campaign donations to those responsible for enforcement.
Seattle’s Upzoning Plan is Ambitious, Light on Details
The city passed a ‘bare-bones’ framework to comply with state housing laws that paves the way for more middle housing, but the debate over how and where to build is just getting started.
DOJ Seeks to End USDOT Affirmative Action Program
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program encouraged contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector, where these groups are vastly underrepresented.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada