Recent research regarding corporate relocation has shown five new realities that have impacted and will continue to impact corporate decisions regarding relocation. Two main areas of consideration are workforce availability and real estate development.  When it comes to the current workforce, the realities are all over the place. The population is getting older but more ethnically diverse. Household incomes are lower and more polarized. The 2000’s was the first decade on record in which real median household income declined.

More than a third of U.S. adults held post-secondary degrees in 2008, up from only a quarter in 1990. This has been an important factor that helped propel U.S. economic growth. Unfortunately, the 2010 Census indicated that younger adults in urban areas are not following suit, which is a disturbing trend that could seriously impact the skill set of the workforce. Emigration from metro areas also continues, growing at the rate of three times that of the urban core. This factor will continue to have a significant impact on corporate moving and associated real estate development.

Another reality of the future U.S. workforce is that the last decade was the slowest decade of population growth in 70 years, slightly less than the 1980’s and significantly below the 13.2 percent growth rate of the 1990s. A golden lining to these developments is that the Sunbelt continued to be the beneficiary of the most growth. The lower 9.7 percent rate could be attributed to a variety of factors including homeland security concerns and an economy in recession that drives workers back to their original homes.

Corporations have been flocking to the far east for the past few decades due to cheap labor costs, friendly governments and lax environmental regulations. The specific countries that businesses are moving to, however, seem to be constantly shifting. China remains a stronghold of cheap plastics manufacturing and some high tech. Taiwan was once a juggernaut in high technology manufacturing but has been eclipsed since the rocket like rise of the mainland. Countries like Singapore and Malaysia have had a long steady presence of foreign firms that have helped those countries develop modern cities.

Manufacturing is not the only thing moving to the far east. With increasing education standards and more college graduates than ever, far east countries are producing an unprecedented number of engineers and designers. This means that American corporations are exporting more than just low skilled labor, they are transferring entire design and engineering departments to places like China and Singapore. Increasingly U.S. employees are acting as ambassadors or communications officers for companies that have shifted nearly all of their production processes across the Pacific ocean. Corporate relocation to these areas of the world sees no sign of slowing in the near future.

Moving jobs overseas is a big talking point in the ongoing presidential campaign. The most talked about sector of the economy that is involved in these corporate relocations is the manufacturing industry. This is because the manufacturing industry has seen a huge exodus of jobs to places in Southeast Asia, Mexico and Latin America. But manufacturing isn’t the only sector of the economy that is sending its operations overseas. Jobs like customer service, engineers and even creative positions like design and writing have found news homes in other countries.

While international relocation of corporate operations is the most popular topic, many facets of business are moving within the United States. These domestic corporate relocations are really just a microcosm of overseas relocations. Businesses tend to move from places with high labor and operating costs to places with low labor and operating costs. This is why many companies move operations from places in the Northeast and California to cheaper and lower taxed areas like the Midwest and Texas. The regions receiving these businesses typically have lower unemployment during recessions and a much higher growth rate during good economic times. If one thing is true, however, is that no place booms forever, as new places always pop up to compete on prices and taxes.