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Why employees are giving up remote work and moving back to urban centers
3 Apr 2026
News
One of the major changes unleashed by the pandemic—and the accompanying spread of remote work—was the large migration of employees from major urban areas. With many jobs no longer anchored to city-based offices, people were free to move to almost anywhere else they preferred to live—often at lower costs to boot. But now, new survey data indicates that exodus has reversed course, with grim labor markets and tightening return-to-office (RTO) mandates causing employment-focused workers to head back to metropolises again.
That finding was one of many big changes noted in the State of Global Hiring study by payroll and human resources service company Deel. It said that while the introduction and continuation of pandemic-era flexible work arrangements had allowed countless employees to move to places where they could work remotely, the accelerating trend of businesses tightening RTO rules has now drawn many workers back to big U.S. cities.
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