THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2023 29 low-level nuisance for many, have the remote jobs it spawned also gone away? Or has the employment outlook for spouses changed for good in our post-pandemic world? EFM Employment by the Numbers The Global Community Liaison Office (GCLO, formerly called the Family Liaison Office [FLO]) tracks family member employment over time through their annual Family Member Employment Report (FAMER). The most recent report showed that from fall 2019 to fall 2022, the number of family members overseas increased slightly, from 12,159 to 12,373. In the same period, the number of family members employed inside our overseas missions dropped slightly, from 3,154 in 2019 to 3,124 in 2022. A whopping 58 percent of family members overseas—7,151 individuals—are unemployed. Of the 5,219 family members who have found jobs, 2,095, or less than half, are employed outside the mission. Posts in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) region are some of the worst places for spouses looking for jobs, with just 19 percent employed inside our EUR missions. By contrast, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) missions can boast that 46 percent of their spouses are employed inside the mission, with another 14 percent working outside the mission. The Bureau of African Affairs (AF) is close behind, with slightly more than half of its total family members employed—24 percent of them inside the mission. The FAMER does not include statistics about family members who were employed outside the mission in past years, but it does show that of the 2,095 EFMs employed outside the mission globally in 2022, 764 of them were teleworking, 415 ran a home business or worked as freelancers, 265 held DETO (domestic employee teleworking overseas) positions, and 247 were working in education. The remaining 404 EFMs were classified as “other,” with just 169 working on the local economy. Beyond the Numbers Surely some of those 7,151 unemployed family members are choosing not to work. But many others report they are unable to find suitable work in line with their interests and education. And the rise of remote work—though significant, in that fully half of EFMs working outside the mission are teleworking— seems yet to become sufficiently broad-based. Many spouses report that U.S. employers are still wary of hiring overseas spouses, fearing tax, legal, or cybersecurity implications for their businesses. Spouse employment at the mission is often not a front office or human resources priority. One spouse currently serving at a large European post—certainly large enough to accommodate and even need extra personnel—reports: “I’ve been told no fewer than three times that ‘people get here and don’t want to work,’ but this could not be further from the truth. We get here and can’t work, as there either aren’t jobs, EFMs from other agencies are in them for extended lengths of time, or post does not look for more opportunities (even though I dare say most sections need the help!).”
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