We are very fortunate to live in the Charlotte Region, even more so lucky to live in the Piedmont Atlantic megaregion that is seeing continuous growth and a more predictable economic future than other megaregions in the United States.
The concept of megaregions in the United States is rooted in regions where you see a collection of cities and states that are geographically tied to population, workforces, and infrastructure connectivity. These concepts are important to study for economic developers and associated industries. The true reality is that the workforce of the future and population shift is concentrating in new megaregions. These megaregions will be where the next generations of Americans will live and where site selection decisions will be made. These regions are not the traditional markets of the prior century.
Another reason why megaregions are important to study, is for the implications they are having on growing regional economies. According to the World Economic Forum, in the Future of Jobs Study 2020, 50% of all employees will need to be reskilled by 2025. This is a trend that is concurrent with the trend of skilled workers and future industries moving to areas where people are already moving or want to live.
The implications for economic development efforts are that site selection decisions will be made based on where people are moving or want to live and will become much more predictable in the future. This is concerning for long-term economic growth nationwide because, of the 11 megaregions within the United States, most major relocation or expansion decisions will be concentrated in five of them. This will create areas that are more competitive for certain industries. It is important for the Business Recruitment Team to make sure the projects we recruit have jobs and industries of the future. All-Star Cities within those megaregions will win the lion’s share of all economic development projects.
These are economic development effects we need to know and a perspective on how we should prepare. Other indicators for this transition to new markets are the changes we’re seeing with the remote and hybrid work models in driving talent attraction, which in turn drives economic growth and competitiveness.
