what is geographical labor mobility 
geographical labor mobility is a measure of the relative ease with which workers can relocate within a nation or region to find jobs that require their skills greater labor mobility in an economy is associated with higher productivity in an economy overall understanding geographical labor mobilitygeographic labor mobility indicates the relative ease or difficulty that workers confront if they want or need to relocate to find better jobs several factors determine geographic labor mobility including the ease of movement and migration and the economic incentives to relocate physical geographic and political barriers to movement are key factors that can make moving more difficult a region s size and its job opportunities in part determine geographic labor mobility at the personal level however factors such as family situation housing availability local infrastructure and educational resources affect geographic labor mobility an economy s level of trade is also a direct factor in the geographic labor mobility of its workforce for example increasing domestic and international trade requires that corporate offices and other support structures be opened in a number of locations increasing job opportunities in these locations occupational labor mobility indicates the degree of ease with which workers can change jobs or professions regardless of their geographical location other elements that affect geographic mobilityother key factors can make geographic labor mobility more or less viable as an option first the aggregate level of education influences the mobility of the labor force higher education levels are generally associated with a greater ability to move to find employment personal and cultural attitudes also drive labor mobility a person with a strong attachment to a place needs considerable motivation to relocate another key determinant is industrialization highly industrialized economies provide more blue collar job opportunities which increases the labor mobility of the economy as a whole more specifically an industrialized economy helps workers move from rural locations to larger cities where there are more job opportunities government policies heavily influence geographic labor mobility in global economic terms the european union actively tries to increase the geographic labor mobility of individuals by helping qualified workers find employment in european countries where their skills are in demand 1if a government wants to increase geographic labor mobility there are several actions it can take the country can support transportation options help raise the standard of living and advance government policies that help with mobility within an economy the use of non compete clauses by businesses can stymie senior employees who want to create new businesses after leaving a company in april 2024 the federal trade commission issued a rule broadly banning non compete clauses in employment contracts it is set to take effect in september 2024 though it also faces legal challenges 2pros and cons of geographic labor mobilitygeographic labor mobility provides several benefits to a nation s economy chief among them is better allocation of the supply of labor and productivity an economic study published in the yale law journal points out that geographic labor mobility makes managing macroeconomic stability easier and that local barriers to mobility can make macroeconomic policy less effective 3mobility also has its downside labor mobility is associated with the dissolution of local communities and even the extinction of indigenous cultures as members migrate to seek economic opportunities and resettle in areas in which they are culturally alien 45this tends to erode social capital in both the locations that workers leave and in new areas they move into geographic labor mobility is also the direct cause of brain drain or human capital flight from developing regions and nations 6geographic labor mobility in the u s the history of the united states presents an interesting case study of geographic labor mobility during and after the development of economic systems 