Regional Economic Research Institute

Issue Brief: Shifting Trends in Remote Work

May 23, 2025 / RERI Research Team

Working from home has become increasingly popular in Southwest Florida, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. Employees were asked to work from home to reduce the spread of the virus, but even as time passed and it became safe to return to the office, working from home remained a popular choice. We can observe a substantial increase in the share of remote workers from 2019 to 2023, which has implications for workforce accessibility, infrastructure planning, and economic development. Understanding who is working remotely is vital to assessing the effects of this shift on our labor market.

Regional Economic Indicators: May 2025 Report

May 05, 2025 / RERI Research Team

The RERI has published Regional Economic Indicators for May 2025. The monthly publication represents a collection and analysis of economic indicators including airport passenger activity, taxable sales, tourist tax revenues, labor force, employment, real estate, and consumer sentiment for the Southwest Florida workforce region.

Collier EBCS: Second Quarter 2025 Report

May 02, 2025 / RERI Research Team

Hard data available at the national level would suggest that the economy remains resilient despite some evidence of slowing growth. The labor market did not waver, with the national unemployment rate measuring at 4.2 percent in March, staying within the range often considered “full employment” by economists. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), reported at 2.4 percent in March 2025, coming in below economist forecasts. Advanced estimates for real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of domestic economic activity in our economy, decreased at a 0.3 percent annualized rate for the first quarter, it’s first decline since the first quarter of 2022.