Sep 12 7:25 PM

Help wanted

by The Stream Team @ajamstream

Two people load boxes into the moving truck in Hallandale, Florida March 20, 2008. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

2008 Getty Images

Fourteen states have unemployment rates under 6% and in many jobs are plentiful but workers are scarce. Census figures show a decline in the number of Americans moving across state lines in search of jobs. Is the solution using unemployment funds to cover relocation costs? Join the conversation at 7:30pm ET.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Salim Furth
Senior Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation
www.heritage.org

Enrico Moretti
Professor of economics, University of California, Berkeley
econ.berkeley.edu

Brittani Kirsch
Bank teller, First National Bank & Trust

Steve Slocum
Marketing director, First National Bank & Trust

Brent Willett @Brent_Willett
President & CEO, North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corporation
northiowacorridor.com

Mandi Woodruff @mandiwoodruff
Journalist, Business Insider
businessinsider.com/yourmoney

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

View the story "Help wanted" on StorifyHelp wantedWhy aren't the unemployed moving to where the jobs are?Storified by AJAMStream· Thu, Sep 12 2013 10:50:33Fewer people moved between 2010 and 2011 - 11.6 percent - than had been recorded in the Census Bureau's 63-year history until that point. By 2013, the number ticked up slightly to 12 percent. The low numbers have forced some to question the reasons behind the entrenchment of some of the available labor force. Slate correspondent Matthew Yglesias writes:Lack of mobility is hardly the cause of macroeconomic distress in the United States. But it’s not helping. And it turns out that the population has grown more moving-averse over time.slate.comcensus.govA cursory search online tells a story of significant mobility among the Twitter crowd:Might just have to move to north Dakota and get 15$ an hour for working at McDonald'sRyan WillenborgCan't wait for this year to be over already so I can move back to Iowa City and hopefully get a job at a golf course...Alex Kroeze @mariamickelson besides if I did move for a job it would definitely not be nearer to Iowa. :) Colorado yes.Ryan SmithIf I'm unable to find a new job in NYC, I'll move to the DC area for a bit and begin looking at other states to obtain employment. #jobhuntTeJotaRecent statistics, however, have told a different story. Research conducted by Greg Kaplan (University of Pennsylvania) and Sam Schulhofer-Wohl (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) found that, in terms of demographics, mobility has dropped most among youth. Adjusted for agajamstreamOne reason attributed to the low movement of labor is the variation in work requirements between states. What type of driver's license is required for EP work? Every state seems to have different requirements.Troy LazarusApplying for my IL teaching license but Every state has different terms or requirements...half the work is fig out what I need!Kathleen WrightIn order to ease the burden of relocation, some have advocated for federal assistance with moving costs. The National Review's Micheal R. Strain writes:An employment program should include a relocation subsidy to help the long-term unemployed move from high-unemployment areas to low-unemployment areas, as suggested by economist Enrico Moretti and others.nationalreview.comThe best assistance government could give the poor is relocation support to help them move to areas with jobs.TraveshamAlthough the voucher program is recognized as a possible first step to boosting employment mobility, the idea has received some backlash: the proposal Strain has in mind would likely go to people who are at the back of the job queue — long-term unemployed with low savings (which proxies for being involved in low-wage labor markets). These are populations that will have trouble finding work, and so it is likely that they’d just move to be at the end of the queue of another state.washingtonpost.comWhile work prospects in some states may be exceptional, housing and other key areas of development may not be. North Dakota is trying to catch up to the rapid population and job growth. A lack of available housing and other constraints are weighing on communities that are poised to grow.foxbusiness.comNorth Dakota. Great pay, no homes. Teeny tiny RV SPOT (RV not included) starts at $1200 a month… #fbtabithascobraThe US still leads many other developed countries in terms of its mobility. However, the EU - which has an unemployment rate of 12 percent - has proposed offering services that will allow greater mobility among its workforce.

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