CHICAGO – Feb. 21, 2013 – One employment authority has pointed out a trend that could result from rising home sale prices: A relocation of employment-seeking homeowners to cities that offer more jobs. Those relocations could then lower the nation’s overall unemployment rate.

“One factor that has kept unemployment rates high has been the inability of underwater homeowners to relocate for employment opportunities,” says John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. “With home prices bouncing back, even those who may now simply break even on a home sale might consider moving to a region where jobs are more plentiful. This could spark a more rapid decline in the unemployment rate over the next year.”

As of December, 130 metropolitan areas had an unemployment rate of 8.0 percent or higher, and nearly 50 had a rate at or above 10 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Meanwhile, about 20 metropolitan areas have an unemployment rate below 4.5 percent.

“It is likely that employers in these low-unemployment regions are actually struggling to find available workers with the skills needed to fill job openings,” says Challenger.

Relocation for an employment opportunity has been difficult with the collapse in home values. At the end of the third quarter, 22 percent of residential properties remained underwater, according to data from real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.

Challenger says relocation is starting to increase among job seekers going through his company’s employment transition programs. Last year, an average of 13.3 percent of those finding new positions each quarter relocated for the job opportunity, up from an average of 11.7 percent in 2011. In 2009 and 2010, as the recession and housing market hit bottom, the relocation rate dropped to just 10 percent.

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