Together but apart

WORKING COUPLES: Finding jobs in the same city is not always easy for two-career couples, and the recession has made it even more difficult. As a result, more American couples are relocating for jobs, putting a strain on their relationships and on family life.

Although past economic downturns also forced people to relocate for employment, the situation is more dramatic at the moment because there are more working couples in the US than in the past. According to the U.S. Department of Labor , in 2008, in 51.4 per cent of married households, both husband and wife held jobs in 2008.

“Someone finding employment in another city creates a bigger challenge for families than it did a generation ago,” says Joseph Foudy, professor of economics and management at the Stern School of Business in New York . “You can’t assume that a spouse that follows another will find employment in this market,” Foudy told The Wall Street Journal.

"You can't assume that a spouse that follows another will find employment," says Professor Joseph Foudy.

The situation is further complicated by the poor housing market. Many couples with children are living apart because they are unable to sell the family home. Kenny and Sue Ayscue, for example, have lived apart for more than two years because they were unable to sell their house in Memphis.

Sue, 45, took a job as director of nursing in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in early 2007. She expected her husband and 11-year-old son to follow within a few months. But the Ayscues did not sell their house until August 2009, at a much-reduced price. Sue lived in an extended-stay hotel while she waited for her family to join her, and drove 13 hours each way to see her husband and son at weekends. “This is not the way I intended to live my life,” she comments.

Meanwhile, husband Ken plans to stay in his current job with a manufacturing distributor near Memphis until November. After that, he will look for a job in Virginia. He expects to take a pay cut.