Community Corner

Poll: Is Your Life on Hold Due to the Economy?

Americans aren't moving like they used to, according to government data.

Amid growing distrust that the economy will be fixed and the difficulties buying and selling homes, Americans are not relocating as much, and new data suggests that in some states, the number of people moving has shrunk by 90 percent

“Right now people are just putting their lives on hold,” William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, told The New York Times.

Census numbers show that the number of people relocating or moving in 2010 is at its lowest since the 1940s, when the government started tracking domestic migration trends, according to the Times.

Find out what's happening in Columbiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The number of people leaving cities in favor of the suburbs—movement within states—has also slowed, amid difficulties buying and selling homes, researchers said.

The news comes as new poll numbers reveal high levels of government distrust: 89 percent of Americans distrust “government to do the right thing,” according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Find out what's happening in Columbiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Meanwhile, the gross domestic product grew in the third quarter—July-through September—but the 2.5 percent jump was not enough to bring the unemployment rate down “substantially over time,” The Washington Post reports.

According to the paper, we are still, as a country, “treading water.”

Weigh in on our poll and in the comments section below. Are you “treading water” in this economy, and delaying job changes and relocations to other markets?


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here