Record lows in job relocation numbers that are a bad sign for older members of the job market may give students a reason to be optimistic when looking for jobs.
A survey released Oct. 18 by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based consultation firm that helps people who have lost their jobs navigate the job market, reveals that only 6.9 percent of executives and managers relocated in quarter three — July 1 to Sept. 30 — of this year, down from 13.4 percent in the same period in 2009.
The company releases the survey at the end of every quarter, and has reported relocation numbers have been below 20 percent since January 2001.
John Challenger, CEO of the firm, said the main cause behind the lack of executives wanting to relocate is the continued downward trend in the housing market. He said homeowners did not want to sell their homes at a big loss just to be able to relocate.
“In the aftermath of a recession, people want to flow to where the jobs are,” Challenger said. “That has been difficult in the last two years because so many people are under water with their homes.”
Challenger added that in better economies, businesses would be more inclined to help with the costs of moving talented people close to them, but have been less willing to do so in recent years.
“The cost of moving someone in a time like this has been scrutinized by companies,” Challenger said.
Though Challenger believes that the numbers reflect poorly on the job climate for experienced professionals, he said the numbers could be positive to students entering the job market who want to find jobs in their home state.
Beth Ellis, director of the graduate career management center at the W. P. Carey School of Business, agrees with Challenger and said that there are numerous employers who like to recruit talent from their local talent pool.
“There is a good pool here of employers who will be looking for employers in state,” Ellis said.
Ellis added that students who do not own homes have an edge over homeowners when looking for jobs.
“Most [undergraduate] students are not homeowners,” Ellis said. “If you look at students that aren’t tied to a home, they are much more mobile and enticing to out-of-state employers.”
Math junior Eric Auld said that because he doesn’t own a home, he can be more flexible about location when he attempts to find a job as a teacher.
Auld added that in addition to not owning a home, he felt that not amassing debt from buying property and assuming the cost that comes with a mortgage would benefit him.
“My lack of debt from buying a home is a huge asset,” Auld said. “I’m very grateful for it.”
Ellis said that because of this, students should take every opportunity to network with businesses on both the local and national level.
“The network is most important,” Ellis said. “Seeking out people in their industry is going to be a better payoff than just kind of blindly going out there.”
Reach the reporter at Michael.reppenhagen@asu.edu
