More job seekers find new work by moving

Job seekers are pulling up stakes again.

An average 15% of unemployed managers and executives moved for new positions in last year's second half, the most since 2009, according to a survey of about 1,000 clients by outplacement firm Challenger,
Gray & Christmas.

The trend is reflected in Atlas Van Lines' migration study, which shows moves between states and Canadian provinces increased 2.3% in 2014's last half compared with the year-ago period.

A mobile workforce makes for a more dynamic labor market in which openings can be filled more quickly, lowering unemployment. Also, "It helps get people working in the right job," says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. After the recession, many workers took positions for which they were overqualified.

The nascent upswing in mobile job hunters can be traced to improving housing and labor markets. After the real estate crash almost a decade ago, one in five homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth, preventing many from moving.

But home prices are up nearly 30% since bottoming out in March 2012. As a result, the share of so-called "underwater" homeowners was down to 10% late last year, according to Moody's.

"The progress made last year clearly is encouraging more job seekers to expand their searches geographically," Challenger CEO John Challenger says.

He also cites a national unemployment rate down to 5.7% from 8% two years ago, giving job-hunters confidence that if they move they're unlikely to be laid off.

In December, 158 metro areas had jobless rates below 5%, double the year-ago total, Challenger and Labor Department figures show. That's pointing workers to an ample choice of hot markets.

At the same time, employers struggling to find skilled workers are expanding their searches across the U.S., says Paul McDonald, an executive with staffing firm Robert Half. Many are paying relocation costs for top executives, as well as for specialists such as software developers and systems analysts.

After graduating from law school in 2009, Brian Richards, 31, faced a brutal market for attorneys. When he landed a job as a workmen's compensation lawyer in Chicago, he "definitely wanted to hold on tight" and stayed in the position four years.

With the job market improving recently, Richards posted his résumé on an online job board in an effort to move back to his native Detroit area. He had a job offer within two months and started in January.

"I was less tied to my job and more willing to look around," he says.