Owned by GM Corporation, GMAC Global Relocation Services reaches more than 110 countries. Along with SHRM (Society For Human Resource Management) Global Forum and the National Foreign Trade Council, GMAC Global Relocation Services has produced a 10-year summary report entitled "Ten Years of Global Relocation Trends: 1993-2004.

The firms have issued reports for ten years, expanding questions to survey participants as demographics and conditions for expatriates have become more complex:

• The percentage of female expatriates has risen from 10 percent to 18 percent over the years, while married males have declined slightly from 64 percent in 1993 to 55 percent in 2003.

• A sharp upward spike in single male expatriates occurred in 2003, possibly due to increased concerns about safety and cost because of terrorist threats. Concurrently, a sharp drop was noted in the number of expatriates who brought children along during assignments this past year, especially during short-term assignments.

• China is emerging as the top destination for expatriate activity, followed by India, Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom. China also presents the greatest challenges to expatriates, followed by India, Japan, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia. The U.K. and U.S.A. remain the most active destinations, followed by China and Hong Kong.

• Since 1995, "trailing" spouses have received the benefit of more education and training assistance by companies, while companies have cut back in provisions for networking, volunteering assistance, job-finding fees, reimbursement for career enhancement and career planning, say respondents.

• Assignments of a year or more in length are declining, from 49 percent in 1997-8 to 11 percent in 2003.

• Smaller companies are competing in the international marketplace, eroding dominance from larger companies. The result is more companies with a small expatriate population are participating in the survey.

• More companies in the high technology; services, publishing, advertising, hospitality, entertainment; and pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics and healthcare industries are participating in the survey. Declining participation was noted in the finance, insurance and real estate; chemicals and agriculture; energy, utilities, and mining; construction and engineering; and transportation industries.

• Before 1999, the expatriate population has risen in comparison to its size in the previous year. Since then, fewer respondents have reported expatriate population growth.

• Companies report more resistance to expatriate assignments, due to concerns over spouse careers and children's education, and other family-related issues.

Published: November 19, 2004

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.