It really isn’t a very attractive phrase-trailing spouse-but it is one commonly used in the relocation industry to identify the spouse of the relocation transferee.

            Not all spouses fall into the traditional category of non-working or stay at home moms.   An increasing number of transferees are members of dual income households, and that poses a greater factor in making a decision in accepting or declining a transfer.

            Often the spouse of the transferee has significant employment that may or may not be able to be duplicated in the new area.   This added complication makes for difficult decision-making.   Quite often the decision is strictly a financial matter.

            Can the “trailing spouse” indeed find work in the field in which they have been employed?   And, if their earning will remain the same in the new location, another consideration is bearing the cost of a job search or recertification and license fees.

            In response to these kinds of hard decisions, corporations have begun to offer their employees some very attractive inducements to accept the transfer, namely spousal employment assistance, the main benefits being flexibility and increased benefits for the spouse.

            Many large corporations now offer a premove decision-making consultation, in addition to the job counseling and placement services normally offered.   These support systems have helped make the job of relocating a dual income household a bit easier by removing the fear of the unknown for that trailing spouse.

            Those corporations who offer a decision-making package have found that more transferees accept the move as a result of participation in the premove consultation.

            According to statistics provided by the Employee Relocation Council in Washington D.C., the percentage dual career transferee was 31% in 1979.   This figured jumped to 47% in 1989 and by the mid 1990’s settled to 51%

            By 2001 the figure rose to 52.7% but not near the prediction of 63%.   Therefore the significant increase of transferees with a trailing spouse and dual incomes has slowed somewhat.   Nevertheless, the increase costs of relocation benefits are contributing factors in the increased difficulty for companies to transfer employees.