Welcome to Mobility Minute, a newsletter published every Friday byWorldwide ERC®for the benefit of members and the global mobility and relocation industry. Here’s a quick glimpse of what you'll find in this week’s issue:
Relocation Remains an Integral Part of Business Strategy
The One Take: Midterm Election Analysis
New England Relocation Association Holds Fall Meeting
Upward Mobility Launches Summer 2023 Program
Send Us Your Company News for Mobility Magazine
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Relocation Remains an Integral Part of Business Strategy
Rising interest rates, high demand for limited housing inventory, and persistent labor shortages dominate the headlines. Despite this “perfect storm” of challenges confronting the global mobility industry today, our 2022 U.S. Domestic Permanent Transfers: Volume & Cost Survey found that employer demand for domestic relocations has been strikingly consistent. The steady volume of transfers despite these difficult conditions reinforces the importance of mobility as a vital part of companies’ business strategy.
For a more in-depth look into our results, as well as a breakdown of the average costs for specific benefits that respondents are providing for their employee transfers, you can find the full report on our survey.
Worldwide ERC® Government Adviser Tristan North provides an analysis of the U.S. midterm elections and their impact on the mobility industry.
New England Relocation Association Holds Fall Meeting
On 3 November, the New England Relocation Association (NERA) held its fall meeting, “Money in Mobility: The Inside Story from Global Mobility Partners,” in Norwood, Massachusetts. Michael Hughes, vice president of global business development for the Arpin Group, kicked off the meeting with a sponsor spotlight on China. Hughes presented on what it is like for an expat to live in China, sharing cultural norms, adapting to expat life, highlights on safety, and what it was like to be in China during COVID-19.
After successfully piloting the program in 2021, Upward Mobility, a diversity internship program for the mobility industry, is ramping up for this coming summer. Presently over 20 companies in our industry have agreed to host Upward Mobility interns, pay them at least $15/hour, and provide them with mentors for guidance and advice. Internships can be in-person, virtual, or hybrid and start by 12 June and on or after 12 August. During this time frame, interns also participate in industry training and networking events. Learn more.
If you are an employer in the U.S. and would like to provide a meaningful work experience for a college student of color over the summer, please contact Andrew Walker to find out how to enroll your organization.
Send Us Your Company News for Mobility Magazine
We are developing content for the next issue of Mobility magazine and on the hunt for member news to share in the Executive Spotlight section. Has your company recently announced promotions or appointed a new chair? We want to hear about it! Worldwide ERC® members can send their news directly to Mobility magazine editor Alexa Schlosser by Monday, 5 December.
Dozens of world leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the U.N. climate summit, known as COP27. They’re debating how to minimize the dangers of climate change. Several scientific solutions are being touted as a way to help world leaders reach their goals of net-zero emissions, including green hydrogen and bamboo. As enthusiasm abounds for climate-related technology, experts caution labeling any solution a silver bullet until proven otherwise. — The Washington Post
Sharp increases in interest rates are set to upend Britain’s housing market and rock the country’s already weak economy. Britain’s homeowners are especially vulnerable because most mortgages have short-term fixed rates, which renew every few years. — The New York Times
The world’s population may have now crossed 8 billion, as of 15 November, but in international hubs of cheap manufacturing, the workforce is starting to contract. As cheap labor gets scarcer in China and other countries, the cost of wages, and therefore of production, will rise. Manufacturing will be on the move again, to nations with younger populations. Some of these effects are visible already—in, for example, how Mexican manufacturing is growing competitive in comparison to China. — Quartz
An estimated 54.6 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA. Air travel is up nearly 8% over 2021, with 4.5 million Americans flying to their Thanksgiving destinations this year.
Inclement weather could disrupt holiday travel
A storm might develop over the Great Plains around Wednesday, shifting east while transferring its energy to a second fledgling storm that will intensify off the East Coast. The weekend after Thanksgiving could feature inclement weather that may disrupt air travel while impacting road and rail conditions with wet weather for some and a plastering of snowfall for others.
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