A new study from WERC estimates global talent mobility spending at about US$90 billion in 2024, covering 8.7 million employee moves.
WERC describes the report, “Talent Mobility’s Global Market Size and U.S. Economic Impact,” as its first attempt to size the industry. Rockport Analytics conducted the research, and Dwellworks, Equus, Manifest Law, and Sirva sponsored it. The study names household goods moving as one of the core service verticals, alongside immigration law, tax advisory, real estate, temporary housing, and destination services. North America is the largest regional market at more than $35 billion and roughly 2.4 million moves. Europe follows at nearly $26 billion, then Asia at nearly $21 billion, though Asia has the most moves at about 2.8 million.
In the U.S., the study estimates that mobility activity supported nearly 340,000 jobs and generated $7.1 billion in tax revenue in 2024, $4.2 billion of it federal. Direct service providers, a group that includes moving companies, RMCs, and immigration attorneys, contributed $15.2 billion of the study’s $34.1 billion U.S. GDP estimate. The remainder came from supply-chain activity ($7.8 billion) and household spending by workers whose jobs depend on mobility ($11.1 billion). The report does not break out household goods spending separately.
The figures measure the total addressable market, meaning every work-related move. That includes employees who hire movers on their own, not just moves managed through corporate programs. That gap matters: a 2024 WERC survey found that RMC-handled corporate relocations totaled roughly 289,000, less than a quarter of the 1.2 million U.S. moves for a new job or job transfer.
IAM Member Impact: Because the study counts moves outside corporate programs, it also points to a large self-directed market beyond RMC channels that members can pursue directly. As this is a first edition, treat these figures as a baseline rather than a trend.