The U.S. Census Bureau and the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership in collaboration with the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) and the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute, welcomes Chris Worley as he presents, “Spatial Shifts in Daytime Population Due to COVID - Impacts and Increasing Levels of Remote Work.” Geospatial distribution of workers has far reaching implications for commuting data, consumer spending behaviors at restaurants, retail, and services, and commercial real estate. The pandemic has forced employers to rethink the ability to work from distance and shift large segments of the workforce to remote work. This analysis pairs Bureau of Labor Statistics data by ability to work remotely by industry coupled with Longitudinal Employment Household Dynamics commuting data. Early results indicate a shift in daytime population away from traditional job centers in the urban core and into suburban and rural areas as a result of increased remote work.

Chris Worley is a consultant with Fourth Economy Consulting. In his role as an economic development analyst, he applies creative analysis and detailed research to support innovative projects that build better communities and stronger economies. By combining qualitative and quantitative information with targeted facilitation, his work is focused on helping communities tell their story and develop solutions to pressing challenges. His recent work includes population projection modeling, COVID-impact analysis, and national remote work modeling.