Regional economies have experienced successive shocks that have affected the overall picture of the market. The housing cost surge of 2016–2019, the lockdowns of 2020–2021 in most countries of the developed world, and the technological rise of AI have significantly reduced the revenue pie. In particular, local markets have gone through a period of continuous changes in consumer behavior.
The absence of online shopping at competitive prices, high rents and the steadily decreasing need for physical presence at work have affected both consumers and businesses. The balance in this relationship has been lost and only time will show what will happen, or whether new business solutions can be found to address the issues of employment and wealth creation.
The logic behind the creation of new professions stems from the need to adapt to new conditions. It isn't primarily a choice made to combat unemployment. New jobs may reduce unemployment, but above all they serve as new pathways for creating wealth and expanding the market.
The risk of the disappearance of regional economies is real and is expected to occur on a large scale. As noted, this is due to the very nature of regional areas, which struggle to survive when competition for attracting capital becomes extremely intense. In a world that is now fundamentally based on connectivity, being isolated is a crushing disadvantage.
