Fewer workers are moving to take new jobs, report shows

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Fewer Americans are relocating to take new jobs amid a shift in U.S. work culture. Workers are less interested in moving for work opportunities due to the increase in hybrid and remote work, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The number of job seekers relocating for jobs fell to the lowest level ever recorded by the firm in the first quarter of 2023. In Q1 2023, only 1.6% of job seekers moved for a new job, down from 4.6% in the same quarter last year, according to the recruiting firm's data. The previous high for relocations was in Q4 2018, at 7.7%.

Experts have said that the coronavirus pandemic changed the way Americans approach work, but this trend predates the pandemic by at least five years.

There's been a steady drop in the number of Americans willing to move for their job since 2017, with the proportion of jobseekers moving for work hitting record lows every year since 2019.

The percentage of Americans changing cities because of their employer has fallen since at least 1986 when nearly 42% of Americans relocated for a job.

But the pandemic recovery has sped things along, with more Americans aging out of the workforce, or choosing to retire rather ...