Sometimes the grass truly is greener on the other side of the fence. The financial turmoil of the past few years certainly lends credence to that notion, as the Great Recession’s disproportionate impact on local economies spawned a 24-point unemployment rate difference between the most and least bountiful major U.S. cities.
More than 100 million people have moved within the past five years, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and 48% of unemployed individuals have picked up their roots in search of a job over that time-frame. This societal mobility stands to be a major asset for job seekers as the economy improves. In fact, 2014 is expected to be a strong year for hiring, with 27% of employers planning to hire, according to the National Association for Business Economics, and a projected 8% bump in the number of recent college graduates who land jobs, per the National Association for Colleges and Employers.
When most of us think of investments we think of the stock market, maybe our retirement fund, and maybe that “business opportunity” last year with a colleague. It is easy to describe investments one-dimensionally; something we invest money in today that we intend to sell for a larger sum years later.