Are job seekers today likely to relocate?

Not as much as before. The number of jobless managers and executives willing to relocate for new jobs has plunged 35 percent from pre-recession levels, according to a survey by the international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. In fact, greater income parity in married-couple households may be a leading factor behind the increasing reluctance to expand one's job search geographically, despite the fact that doing so greatly improves the chances of speedy reemployment.

The Challenger job-seeker relocation survey shows that in the nine quarters since the recession began in the first quarter of 2001, an average of just 15.6 percent of discharged managers and executives relocated for new positions. In the nine-quarter period prior to the economic downturn, about 24 percent of jobless managers and executives relocated for new jobs.

John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, thinks that job seekers who found listings for out-of-town job openings were probably unable to pursue them because companies would not cover their travel expenses and their own financial situation, worsened by joblessness, made paying for the trip themselves impossible. However, Challenger said the recession is not entirely to blame. He thinks that the leading cause behind the drop may be that women are contributing a greater amount of money to family income, which helps reduce some of the feelings of desperation resulting from job loss.

According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, there were 33.7 million dual-income households. In a household where the husband was earning between $45,000 and $47,499, for example, the average annual income for the wife was $30,520, or about 40 percent of the household income. So, due to the increased earning power of women, relocation may never return to pre-recession levels. If companies cannot rely on the local talent base, they will be forced to come up with alternatives to relocation-one solution may be the implementation of telecommuting programs. To learn more about telecommuting, begin at ¶61,200

Wonders of technology. Technology is even making it possible for companies to interview candidates remotely. The practice has been employed over the last year by Gaithersburg, Maryland-based food services company Sodexho as an initiative to cut travel expenses.

The company says that the final interviews are face to face, but by that point the candidates have been narrowed to two or three people. The videoconference interview is critical in getting down to the finalists.

We may be approaching a day when job candidates will never have to leave their homes to meet with hiring managers. The whole process, from initial contact, to interview, to job offer and then the job itself will take place using the latest in computer and video technology. In such a scenario, employers and prospective employees will save time and money, Challenger predicted (Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. press release May 19, 2003).