Help Wanted: Communities Willing to Pay Workers to Move in

Cities and states across the U.S. are offering to pay people to move in and take vacant jobs as the unemployment rate dwindles down. Unemployment hit a record low 3.8 percent in May.

In St. Clair, Mich., population 160,000, business owners are working with the chamber of commerce to raise $100,000 to incentivize recent STEM graduates to move the community. Randy Maiers, chief executive of the Community Foundation of St. Clair explains, “We spend a lot of money on traditional scholarships that aren’t bringing people back home, why don’t we pay people to move back here?” Maiers tells The Washington Post that the "reverse scholarships" are offered $15,000 to those who have graduated within the last seven years with STEM degrees to cover their student debt.

Business leaders and members of North Platte's City Council hatched plans to lure more people to town. First, they offered $12,000 checks to developers for each new house, since they figured continued growth in the area's health-care and manufacturing industries required more lodging. Then they agreed to match signing bonuses paid to new employees from out of town by up to $5,000. So far, two people have received the bonuses. The program is funded through a half-cent sales tax. The levy, imposed last March, sparked no backlash in the community, McGown said. “People don’t want to see companies move away because they can’t find workers,” she said.

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