It’s hard to get a job if you can’t sell your house and move for a new job.
In the last two quarters of 2011, only 7.5% of job seekers relocated to find work, a record low, according to outplacement agency Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s down from 9.4% in the first half of 2011 when it appeared things were improving. Click here to see the report.
It’s the ol’ housing market pulling down the employment market, yet again.
“The latest numbers indicate that picking up stakes remains a last resort for the majority of job seekers, many of whom are unwilling to take a loss on the sale of a home for a position that may or may not last,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The report illustrates an obvious economic observation: an economy toppled by a housing bubble can not be fixed without first addressing the housing bubble. Most of the Federal Reserve and government stimulus efforts have been aimed at shoring up banks, not the real estate market that banks manipulated.
