Workers & Wages
Microeconomic Decision Makers
Occupational mobility is the ease with which a worker can move from one type of job to another. Geographical mobility is the ease with which a worker can move from one location to another to take a job.
Several things make labour more or less mobile.
| What raises mobility | What lowers mobility | |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational | Transferable skills, retraining and education, similar work in other industries | Highly specialised skills, long training requirements, lack of retraining |
| Geographical | Affordable housing, good transport, available information on vacancies | High housing costs, family and social ties, language or cultural barriers |
Common exam question
What affects labour mobility
Question: Define labour mobility, or identify or explain what makes workers more or less able to change job or area (2–4 marks).
Asked in 3 of the 11 structured papers. A definition earns its two marks from the ability of workers to move, between occupations or between areas, to take another job. For influences, one scheme accepts age, skills or training, qualifications, the price or availability of housing, the cost of living, family ties, information on vacancies, disability, transport, distance to work and discrimination, but marks only the first three you give. To explain one, say which mobility it changes: better education or internet access builds skills and knowledge of vacancies, raising occupational mobility; better or cheaper transport lets people work further away, raising geographical mobility.
The same idea is set in 1 of the 13 multiple-choice papers: more low-cost housing raises geographical mobility, while spending on apprenticeships and training raises occupational mobility instead.
Consequences matter for the whole economy. When labour is mobile, workers move quickly from declining industries and regions to growing ones, which keeps structural unemployment low and helps firms fill vacancies. When labour is immobile, workers stay stuck in shrinking industries or depressed regions, structural unemployment rises, and firms in growing areas face shortages that push wages up. Governments improve mobility through education and training (occupational) and through transport and housing policy or job-vacancy information (geographical).