Is Relocating the Next Move in Your Job Hunt?

If you’re a teacher or health services worker in the southern United States, you’re in a pretty good position right now. If you’re not, and in need of work, you might want to think about a career change and/or relocating down to Dixie. That’s because a new Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report says that, despite December’s job openings hitting the lowest rate recorded since the report started eight years ago, there are jobs available in health services and education.

In a strange twist, though, the professional and business travel industries reported the most hires in December, as well as the most layoffs, discharges and retirements.

The report’s findings also revealed that the South fared better for the amount of open positions than the Northeast, Midwest and West, though job openings have declined overall in all four areas of the country. That’s not encouraging news, considering the barrage of headlines detailing thousands of new layoffs every day.

Other than pinpointing where the jobs that still exist are, this report basically reinforced what I (and I’m sure you) already suspected: people aren’t just getting laid off from one job, they’re being shut out of the job market almost entirely.

Even New York City, the epicenter of business and a town that inspired the theme of “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” is predicted to reach a startling 10.5 percent unemployment — well above the 7.6 percent national unemployment average and far above the low end of the scale, like Idaho Falls’ 1.9 percent unemployment rate.

So this begs the question: Where are the out of work supposed to turn? The South I guess… or maybe Idaho Falls.

Have we reached a point as a nation where mobility is necessary to maintain some semblance of our former lifestyles? According to a recent survey, most Americans are willing to relocate if it means finding a job. In fact, “59 percent of employees say they’d be willing to relocate to another city for a new job and 44 percent say they’d be willing to relocate to another state, province or region for a new job.”

What about you? Are you willing to move? And do you think the current job market will lead to a population shift in some areas of the country?

Tags: job outlook, job outlook 2009

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