The high rankings associated with talent related issues such as labor costs and availability of skilled labor remain of top importance to corporate decision-makers, as they have for many years. This comes as no surprise given how important workforce is as a site selection factor.
In addition, it is important to note the items that took a big jump on the list from 2021 to 2022. A few noteworthy items include:
- Quality of life (closely aligned with attracting and retaining talent) jumping from being tied for 11th to 2nd place in the rankings;
- Construction costs moving up from being tied for 11th to 5th due to the impact of inflation;
- ICT/broadband leaping from 26th to 6th due to growth of remote working; and
- Energy costs, which did not appear as a separate entity on the list in 2021, ranking 8th among the site selection factors due to changes in energy policy and inflationary pressures.
These unchartered waters have created a more challenging environment for corporate decision-makers. Subsequent site selection decisions will be impacted in the short and long term based on what we are experiencing currently. Unlike in past economic downturns, we are unlikely to see the economic landscape bounce back to where it was before this current downturn.
