Why Australians Are Stuck in Their Jobs and Afraid to Move

Not switching jobs. Not starting businesses. Not moving states.

People are less mobile, less dynamic and more risk-averse than they used to be, a series of economic indicators shows.

"I do think there's a lot of fear in the workplace at the moment," business strategist Kate McCready said.

Contributing to those fears are advances in artificial intelligence, the uncertain global environment and a tightening jobs market.

"People are worried about keeping those jobs and then what happens if they can't keep those jobs … ending up in this climate where it does make it harder," — Kate McCready

Ms McCready previously moved between self-employment and salaried work. She has just restarted her leadership coaching business after a restructure at a large health insurer left her redundant.

All the Stats Say 'Stuck'

In 1989, almost one in five people in the workforce changed jobs in a single year. By 2005, the job mobility rate had fallen to 11 per cent. The most recent data, for the year to February 2025, shows just over 1.1 million people changed jobs, meaning job-switching fell to just 7.7 per cent, or one in 13 people.

"All of these factors point towards Australians being stuck or being held in the jobs that they currently have," said Rachel Lee, a research economist at the e61 Institute.

The cost of housing and the risk involved in taking an average mortgage, about $700,000 with a 30-year term, are just some of the factors holding us back.

"It can be something that is stopping people from considering or even changing jobs or changing locations," — Rachel Lee

'Wage Jobs' Have Super, Leave and Other Benefits

Ms Lee said the security and benefits of traditional employment had become more attractive over time. "With the expansion of things like superannuation and paid parental leave, the benefits of being a wage employee have increased," she said.

Self-employment has fallen sharply to a 20-year low, according to research from the e61 Institute. The share of Australians who are self-employed fell from a 2002 peak of 20 per cent to just 14 per cent of employment today. Sole traders dropped from 12 per cent in 2002 to just under 9 per cent now.

"Skills like decision-making, problem-solving and creativity, these skills which used to be a big part of being a business owner, they are now increasingly rewarded in wage employment … while benefits like superannuation and paid leave have also made wage jobs more attractive and financially secure."

How 'Red Tape' Protects Not Just People, but Incumbents

Economist Dimitri Burshtein said we were "weighing down" younger generations. He said high income tax rates and regulations that impeded young people from starting businesses hindered their ability to get ahead.

"What our current settings do is they just make it really hard for our young people to accumulate wealth and to innovate and to be dynamic. It makes it difficult for them to move."

He suggested new regulations placed a disproportionate burden on businesses that had not had to face the rules before, and provided a boost to companies already in the market. "It just stifles innovation, it stifles movement," he said.

People Aren't Moving Interstate as Much

Another sign of decreased mobility is we are not moving interstate as much as we used to. Property market expert Cameron Kusher said it was a big commitment.

"There is just not enough enticement to encourage people to cross the borders. People are still moving, but they are much less likely to move to another state, instead choosing to move within the state they currently live in," he said.

The spiralling cost of property and transaction costs such as stamp duty make it harder to shift.

"[It] means taking a risk may mean you risk losing your home, moving means stamp duty, selling means higher agent fees because prices are higher, and I think people are largely choosing safety and security in the current economic environment." — Cameron Kusher

Budget Response to Cool Housing Market

The federal budget has taken huge swings at some of the settings that have fuelled the housing market. Tax breaks to housing investors, such as negative gearing and the capital gains discount, could result in making the sector less attractive, allowing more owner-occupiers to purchase more cheaply.

Safety Not Always What It Seems

Ms McCready now works with people looking to do what she has done: leaping out of the security of wage-earning roles and into self-employment. She ran through some pros and cons of self-employment.

Pros: independence, "uncapped earning potential", autonomy and the ability to make work fit better around life

Cons: paying your own superannuation, missing the feeling of being part of a team and "being more susceptible to economic conditions".

In the past 40 years, we have only had two recessions. But Ms McCready worries that our settings and mindset mean we are not prepared for what might be substantial upheaval in our economy and our working lives.

"Right now, we're in this situation where everything is changing. The economy is crazy, what's happening overseas, wars; we see all of a sudden the impact that fuel not coming in has on all these different things."

Just as our housing "crisis" was the result of choices and changes over decades, making our economy more dynamic and encouraging more people to take chances in their working lives will not be fixed overnight.