American Workers Prefer Staying in the States

Relocating: U.S. workers are open to relocating within the U.S. should the right job present itself. More than two-thirds say they would move to a different city to find work. But America is still the place to be: Less than 40 percent would consider moving to another country, according to the Kelly Global Workforce Index by Kelly Services, a Troy, Michigan-based global staffing firm. By contrast, nearly 60 percent of workers elsewhere report a willingness to relocate to a different country, with the U.S. percentage among the lowest of the 33-country survey, Kelly says. Nevertheless, of U.S. workers who would consider a move, 28 percent are OK permanently settling in a country in which they aren’t fluent in the local language. “Workers under 35 years old were the most likely to consider moving, and men were considerably more willing to relocate than women,” according to Kelly. Canadians are far more willing, with nearly three-quarters prepared to relocate to a different city for work and more than half open to moving to a different country. Kelly’s research solicited the opinions of 115,000 people, including 11,000 Canadians and 14,000 in the United States.