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Flatsharers UK’s most mobile workforce

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  • 09/11/2010
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Flatsharers UK’s most mobile workforce
Flatsharers are more likely to move across the country to find a job than other renters or homeowners, according to new research.

Just 2% of homeowners and sole renters moved region each year for work, compared to 11% of flatsharers, according to an easyroommate.co.uk poll.

With nearly 1.9m renters in flatshares across the country, they currently provide a workforce of 209,000 mobile young workers in the UK.

Jonathan Moore, director of easyroommate.co.uk, said: “The UK has a reputation for having a very immobile workforce, but the high level of home ownership in Britain, and the costs involved in moving home has reined in the number of people moving regions for work.”

He added: “The economic downturn and the squeeze on jobs has forced UK job hunters to be less picky where they choose to work. There are fewer jobs to choose from, and many have had to move across the country. With no mortgage and no assured tenancy agreement, the flatsharing population have been far more flexible to move to find work.”

The trend has accelerated since the recession with one in five live-in landlords (21%) reporting an increase in the number of tenants, who have moved for a job in the past three years.

For those flatsharers who have a job, it would take a pay rise of 44% to convince them to move from their current area for a job, according to the property website.

However, it is not just the flexibility of flatsharing that appeals to job hunters, as 74% of respondents said that they chose to flatshare because of the cheaper living costs.

Moore added: “The average flatshare rent is just £348 per month – £341 cheaper than renting alone – not to mention the savings by clubbing together on the monthly bills.”

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