♪ >> i'm lisa fletcher and you are in "the stream." what is keeping unemployed americans from moving across state lines to get the jobs available? ♪ >> a jobless rate below 6% is the reality in 14 states. if you are looking for work why not move? for every job there are three people who want it. yet at the same time jobs go unfilled in places like north

dakota, iowa, and wyoming. fewer americans are willing to move across state lines for work. last year about 12% did. in 1985 the mobility rate was nearly double that. job relocation helps the overall economy, so why aren't more americans moving for work. wajahat ali is here, waj, unemployment affects millions of americans. >> yeah, a lot of frustration and skepticism in our community. a loyal streamer says . . . and just blank girl says . . . and ann gibson asks . . . clear and here is the subtlety of dr. harvey . . .. hopefully i got all of the hahs

in there. you the loyal streamers you know the drill. all of your online streaming drive the discussion so join us. >> joining us is the man with the heritage foundation, on skype the author of the new geography of jobs joins us. and brent helps to coordinate jobs in north iowa. and britney moved to get a job. and mandy woodriff joins us. she is a journalist who questions solely to find work. welcome to "the stream." why do we tend to see high unemployment in some places and then places that have an excess of jobs in others?

what is the reason for the big divide? >> so there are a lot of underlying factors. iowa and north dakota has different populations and different industries, so there's a lot of underlying reasons. but right now we have a -- a really overall national unemployment problem, so while some -- some people are going to find jobs by crossing state lines, what we really need is a national focus on restoring the country to economic growth and that will create jobs everywhere. >> right. but there are four states that have more jobs than people, so if you are unemployed why aren't you thinking about moves to one of those states? >> i think people absolutely are. the internet and other

i want to live for the next year. if you have a family, if you have roots it might be hard to move. >> why have the unemployed stopping moving as much. >> they haven't really stopped moving. they are less mobile than they used to be. but american workers are still much more mobile than pretty much any other country, especially european countries. >> there are certain americans that are more mobile than others? >> yeah, the -- the mobility is highly correlated with education. college graduates are very, very mobile. francis says . . .

shem says . . . okay. celine, our community, some of them thinknknknknknknk apartment for less than $1,500.

if you want to move to boston, good luck. the reason those cities are so '09 there was 18% unemployment in detroit, and 5 miles away in iowa city there was 4.5 unemployment. it's not that hard to get in your car and drive. there's not a huge cost to moving 500 to the jobs. had there been an incentive plan in place could that have made a difference or no? >> possibly. current unemployment makes no incentive whatsoever to relocate to a stronger labor market, and i think that should be changed. you can think of a program where part of that unemployment check

comes in the form of a relocation voucher that encourages people to move from places like flint, and detroit, where places like chicago where the labor market is stronger. i think that would be in the interest of everybody. it would probably not cut unemployment rates in the u.s. by -- [ technical difficulties ] -- >> fragile economy? >> i don't think it would hurt anything. i'm cautious -- [ technical difficulties ] -- that exists for certain industries, and for people who are eligible, less than 1% have chosen to take a relocation allowance that has been made available to them. but i think we need to look at the bigger problems in place. and if we want to add a new program, maybe let's get rid of one of the ones that has been

found lacking, and replace it. i'm cautious about adding yet another government program on to the existing impediment. >> i completely agree. i don't want to add another program or form of welfare. i'm suggesting to turn some of the existing programs, of unemployment insurance, a component of it, make it dependent on mobility. >> our community chimes in . . . teresa kim says . . . and aria says . . .. so mandy you are a part of the minnelal generation. some people are saying the millennial generation is being a bit selfish.

they want everything without the sacrifice. what is your response? >> i did move from my home to new york four years ago, and spent a lot of money to do that. but for me it wasn't that difficult. but when you are talking about the long-term unemployed, even the min inials have been unemployed for a long time. so we haven't been able to save enough to move and all of the costs that go with that, and just talking about subsidies, federal subsidies and whether that would encourage people to move, i feel like there are some states that are paying homeless people to move out. hawaii and new york have these programs where they pay people to get on a flight and move, and on the flip side, can you pay people to move for work? i don't know. it depends on do they know what

they want to do for their job? and a lot of millennials don't. >> what does reduced mobility reflect in terms of the economy? >> that's a really good question. i think certainly just in the last five years it reflects a less vibrant economy. there are people who will move to look for work, but a lot more people will move when they have a job. there is an interesting question of why it has decreased over the last 50 years. and that would be interesting to look at. >> enrico is there a homogenization of jobs going on? >> no, actually to the contrary. the difference between successful local labor markets in the united states and less successful ones has been growing, and the gap -- it's as

large as it has been since world war ii. so the difference between wages they make in high-wage places and wait a minutiges you can ma low-wage places is much higher than it used to be. so the room for -- for mobility is there. the opportunities are there, and i think -- i also want to make clear another point in the discussion that we had before -- >> quickly, and then we're going to hit the break. >> it's not creating a new program. it's about making the current unemployment system to make it more sensitive and more sensible, and encourage mobility instead of discouraging mobility. >> it is easy to say move to the jobs, but it is not always that simple. "the stream" viewer, this one moved from michigan to north carolina.

listen. >> i work for the airport. it's really hard going right now. i generate [ inaudible ] because i can't afford it, i'm single jobless, college educated, have no biases, and it's still very hard right now, so it -- the entire moving experience has had its ups and downs, but i suppose that's the way life is, and i just take it as it comes. >> are these jobs and the experience once you are there not what you expected? the members of our community in our google hangout will address those issues when we come back. in the meantime second us your thoughts and we'll share them on the other side of the break.

♪ welcome back. so many factors go into the decision to move to another state for work and waj we asked our viewers about whether or not their expectations were met when they lead the leap. what did they have to say? >> yeah. . . . jesse says . . . dave, however . . . and dave is like who is with me? i'm going. and not lori who tweeted in . . .

>> that is one of the deciding factors for people who are moving to north dakota, they say if you survive a winter, you will probably stay, and if not, you are probably on your way out. >> brittany, i'm sure you had anxiety about going to north dakota. what were the risks for you? >> just not being able to find a job; that was my biggest fear. i had no skill. i didn't go to college. i was straight out of high school, so i wasn't sure what would be there. >> so you knew you were moving to what has been dubbed a boom town. what was appealing to you? >> just the fact that people were saying there were jobs there. i'm not going to give up a opportunity to go better my life just on assumptions that it could be bad or good. i was full in. >> and tell us what happened. you moved there, and how did it go? >> it went great. within two weeks i found a job.

it couldn't have been better. i'm still with that same job. the people are great. it's like a fairytale almost. >> great. well matthew says . . . and then there's also mrs. donald trump the fourth . . . all right. steve, some people have knocked knick north dakota. and you have witnessed the change where a lot of people have come in due to the industry and the job growth. talk about how this has effected your community? >> well, the pace is way off of the charts. you used to be able to go anywhere in ten minutes, and now it's harried, it's aggressive, the place is shattered, and our

purpose for living here -- we do like winter, nice and crisp -- we're not so sure about our purpose here anymore as we swirl around in this oil and gas development. >> but has there been economic infusion into the community? your town was originally about 10,000 and it has tripled to about 30,000 in a very short period of time. but have there been good things for the community? >> i think so. for a person who has lived here a long time, i'm not seeing it fast enough. we're in such a development phase, everything is dirty, everything is broken, everything is -- and once -- it's under repair or construction all the time. so it's coming, but it's not coming quite fast enough for me. >> celine one of the biggest drops in people who are moving

to find jobs are the mill inials, so brittany is really an anomaly before. so what is the damage to young people who are unwilling to move? >> yeah, it's really frightening. i commend brittany for our courage. i think she is a great example. and a lot of people, even people coming out of college and fining it hard to get a job now that reflects where the national economy is, and if the cities are where the jobs are, and especially the exciting places where millennials want to live, if they would allow more construction and free market in real estate, then you would see cheaper apartments, you could see places where you could afford to not have to live in mom's basement after graduation. >> i think parents want that so.

>> zeid said . . . and c-mohammed said . . . some in washington, d.c., lisa. and we touched upon this, but immigrants right now, regardless of skill, age, and education, are the most mobile employment force right now. and millennials are now. how is this effecting the economy? >> immigrants play an interesting role. because they already left their home country, their family and friends, and so they are -- once they come here, they are the ones that are the most mobile across regions and states and cities, and they play a balancing role, because they -- they basically go where wages and jobs are strong, and

they go away from week labor markets, and therefore, you know, they [ inaudible ] the -- [ inaudible ]. >> mandy contrary to brittany who moved to north dakota and has had a very successful and by all standards, it sounds like a great experience moving there, you not only have said you wouldn't move to north dakota, you wrote an article about it. tell us about what inspired that. and follow up with if you weren't employed right now would that change how you might look at this scenario. >> yes, i wrote a story about north dakota, not really about north dakota, but used it as an example. a lot of people are looking at the boom towns, north dakota, iowa, and saying people should move there just for jobs. i made the argument for young people or people in general, you are not just going to follow the

job anywhere. and for me north dakota didn't meet a set of criteria i have for myself. i'm a writer, i'm a journalist, so for me new york city was a no-brainer. and it wasn't as much of a fairytale for me as it was for brittany. i moved here from georgia in '09 and immediately lost my job. i worked for a magazine that went belly up four months after i got here. i ended up staying here not just for the initial job but for the long-term growth of my life in new york city. and i think you have to kind of look ahead and not just what is the hot state right now? >> what happens when the boom goes bust? is following the jobs really a sustainable solution to unemployment? and what other factors besides the paycheck will make you stay

once you there? ç]

♪ >> hi i'm chelsea, a comedian in gray suspenders, and i'm in "the stream." >> welcome back. we're talking about labor mobility, basically moving to where the jobs are. brent i want to get to you, you

partner with various cities in iowa on economic development, and it's one things when jobs lure people to the community, it's another thing to have the proper infrastructure and the things that bring quality of life. how much of a challenge is that for smaller communities that have suddenly had an influx of people that they want to hold on to? >> well, qualify of life factors are incredibly important for mobility. the definition of work force mobility in markets like ours, takes on a couple of forms. many of the jobs we have available -- we do have more jobs than people are in what are middle skill sets. in most cases it requires less than a four-year degree.

they are quite well paying job, for example a welding job that may start at 45 or $50,000 a year, so the more that communities like north central iowa can do to entice those folks from a quality of life standards, hospitals, housing, low crime rate, that kind of thing is very important. i'll say one more thing, where we do see the most success in work force attraction is in the 30 to 40-something set, individuals who may have some tie to the area, but are looking to come back to start a family. >> so brittany what other things besides the job would make you commit to staying in north dakota long term? >> honestly, the people. i mean it's a wonderful place. the community is close knit. the people who are always from here, they -- they are better than where i came from.

they are not mad all the time, because they don't have money. >> got to give props to detroit. there are some good people in detroit, brittany. but a lot of people have interested in a sustainability of culture. . . . and garrett . . . and steve talk us to about the sustainability when it comes to the culture, how important is it to remain the culture of the place? >> oh, it's huge. i think brittany touched on it, i think it's what makes this a bit of a magical thing, even though we have four distinct subpoenas and one is really hard. it's helping each other, it's

covering each other's back, being there for pot luck dinners, helping at the church, volunteering. those are the cultural icons and [ inaudible ] as the community moves into a bigger and more metropolitan culture. >> henry what are the long-term economics of people moving for jobs? are these typically more transient folks or larger communities being built around these opportunities. >> i think the latter. i think the united states was built around mobility. a big chunk of our [ inaudible ] is the fact we have always been a very mobile labor force and always seeking good opportunities. and traditionally that has not destroyed communities. it has built communities. so looking forward, i -- i hear -- the concerns about culture and family relationship, and those are of course

important, but also important economic considerations and those play also an important role when we think about us as a nation, our perspective as a nation. >> celine you don't you wrap it up for us. >> i think some great perspectives have been made tonight. i think it's really important that we as americans recognize the opportunities that are available everywhere, and what we need to do is to really -- to really aallow people to flourish, to pursue their own dreams, and sometimes that means allowing something to happen in your own backyard where you might not welcome it. >> well said. thanks so all of you. until next time, waj and i will see you online. ♪

good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera, i'm john siegenthaler in new york here are the top stories. this is not a game. >> striking a tough tone the plan secretary kerry is rejecting on one day of the syria talks with russia. flooding forces thousands from their homes, parts of colorado on alert tonight from drenching rain. plus -- >> i know how i feel, i can only imagine how the residents and business owners in this area are feeling. my heart goes out to them, that's why i'm here. >> months after being