Labor Mobility and Unemployment

This story in BusinessWeek is very enlightening. Some parts of the country are mired in recession with high unemployment while others (like my hometown of Minot, North Dakota) are struggling to find enough workers to fill positions. While the incentives created by generous unemployment benefits might be having some negative effect, as well as a mismatch between the job openings and the job skills of the unemployed, the most interesting observation is the sad state of the housing market. People are finding it difficult to move to more attractive markets because they are finding it difficult to sell their homes.

One reason the jobs misery index is so high: The housing bust has reduced Americans' mobility. The Census Bureau reported on Apr. 22 that the percentage of the population that moved was the lowest since recordkeeping began in 1948. Home-owners, the Census found, were only one-fifth as likely to move as renters.