She considered traveling for interviews with companies in Philadelphia, “but none of them are willing to pay for the cost of my moving or to go in for an interview. And the pay that they’re offering wouldn’t be worth me going out there just for an interview, so I’m just kind of waiting for something to come along.”
Others say they are eager to move, though they haven’t come across the right opportunity. Coalette Psuik, 32, of Chicago, lost her human resources job in January and has wiped out her retirement savings trying to make ends meet.
In Chicago, “the job market is too rough -- I would be willing to go anywhere,” Psuik said.
Stagnant Wages
Even for those who can find job opportunities, sluggish wage growth makes them think twice about relocating, said Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at Brookings in Washington who was previously at the Labor Department.
Hourly earnings rose just 2.1 percent year-over-year on average since the recession ended in June 2009. That’s after an average gain of 3.1 percent in the five years before the recession began.
There are signs the change in mobility may be more than a passing phase for the millennial generation, said Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean at Emory University in Atlanta, who has studied the generation and presented research to the Atlanta Fed earlier this year.
“Part of the decline is a lag -- millennials do everything related to independence a bit later than previous generations -- and part may be a genuine trend that implies a less physically mobile generation,” she said. “I do believe that they are more inclined than previously more nomadic generations to put down roots and to gravitate towards the comfort of the homes and institutions they never really rebelled against.”
Confidence Lacking
Young people have delayed life decisions, including moving for jobs, forming households, getting married and having children, said Peter Francese, an independent demographer and consultant in Exeter, New Hampshire.