Signs are growing that the employment market is improving. The economy added 379,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in February—the most recent month data is available—and the unemployment rate declined to 6.2%. Perhaps more telling, last week weekly jobless claims totaled 684,000—the first time claims had been below 700,000 during the pandemic.

But certain areas are improving faster. In a new report, Cushman & Wakefield found that the labor shifts that began before the pandemic intensified during the health crisis. Before COVID hit, markets such as Austin and Nashville exhibited higher job posting growth rates than coastal and Midwest markets.

In 2020, Nashville and Fort Lauderdale saw posting activity increase more than 20% for almost all corporate occupier profiles from April to December. Corporate, technology and call center job postings jumped by more than 50% in Phoenix. C&W says these markets are positioned to capture talent migrating to markets with lower costs, better climates and more favorable policy environments.