The U.S. job market is so tight that some cities are offering bonuses to employees willing to relocate. Most of these cities are in rural areas where companies are dealing with a hot job market and an aging workforce that is creating a massive job shortage.
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The city of Hamilton, Ohio, is offering $5,000 towards student loans to people in engineering, technology, science or the arts, if they agree to live for two years in Hamilton.
Grant County, Indiana, will give $5,000 towards buying a new home. The median price of homes currently listed in Grant County is $209,000, according to data from Zillow.
Lawmakers in North Platte, Nebraska, will offer up to $10,000 for those willing to move to town for a job. According to Omaha.com, companies in the region are also on board.
North Platte is home to Union Pacific’s largest train yard, and it is offering a bonus of $25,000 for diesel electricians and $20,000 for train crew employees. They are also offering bonuses for some jobs in Chicago, Kansas City, Wyoming, Oregon and Wisconsin, according to The Wall Street Journal.
North Platte has 3.2% unemployment vs. the national average of 4.1%.
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Mike Allgrunn, an economist at the University of South Dakota, told the WSJ that the financial incentives are “a modern-day Homestead Act,” referring to the 1862 law offering public land to settlers willing to move West.
Ironically Marne, Iowa, is offering free parcels of land to those willing to move.
