Workers less willing to move or switch jobs

Job seekers waits in line outside a Monster.com job fair in Los Angeles, California July 23, 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Falling home prices, an uncertain economy and $4 gasoline are making more U.S. workers think twice about switching jobs.

Workers have in recent months become less willing to move, and more of them are considering how long it takes to get to work when deciding whether to accept a position, say executives in the staffing industry.

The trend, if it becomes widespread, could mean U.S. employers will have a harder time filling positions -- especially those requiring specialized skills -- raising their labor costs.

"We are seeing less relocation to take jobs and that's directly tied to the home and mortgage situation," said Tig Gilliam, North American CEO for Swiss-based Adecco SA, the world's largest staffing firm.

Although the national unemployment rate is at a four-year high, professionals in areas such as finance and accounting, engineering and information technology remain in high demand and can afford to be choosy. The jobless rate in those sectors is less than half the national average, Gilliam said.

'DEVIL THEY KNOW'

Scot Melland, Chief Executive of Dice Holdings Inc, which runs specialized websites focused on technology and financial services, said fewer professionals in those areas are willing to change jobs than in the past.

"One of the challenges in the recruiting space today is getting people to move from one company to another (and) it ties back to economic uncertainty," Melland said. "They want to stay with the devil they know."

While lower home prices make some people unwilling or unable to sell their property, high gas prices are also increasingly a factor in how candidates evaluate job opportunities, Gilliam said. Temporary workers, especially, are considering the length of a commute before taking a position.

"Fuel costs have risen enough that it's now a big difference in the paycheck if you're driving ten miles versus driving forty," Adecco's Gilliam said. "If you're an engineer or a finance person you don't have an issue, (but) if you're in construction you're not being picky."

The construction and manufacturing sectors continued to shed jobs in July, according to the government, which reported the seventh consecutive monthly decline in non-farm payrolls on Friday. The unemployment rate jumped to 5.7 percent, the highest since March 2004.

To be sure, many workers are glad to move. A Manpower Inc. survey in June found that 37 percent of workers would be willing to relocate anywhere in the world for a better career, especially those under 30 and those with higher levels of education.

Still, the number of Americans moving for a new job has been declining for years.

In the second quarter, 11.4 percent of job seekers relocated for a new position, down from 15.4 percent a year earlier, according to outplacement consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas, which conducts a quarterly survey of about 3,000 unemployed workers. By contrast, more than a quarter relocated 10 years ago.

(Editing by Andre Grenon)