New York
CNN
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Immigration has long been political football in the United States. But if you’re wondering why America’s labor shortage has persisted nearly three years since the COVID-19 pandemic, one reason is that America doesn’t have enough immigrants.
Immigration is vital to the U.S. economy and fills thousands of U.S. jobs, jobs that many Americans don’t want to do. In 2020, the processing of legal immigrant worker visas stopped and resumed towards the end of 2021.
And by the end of last year, there were nearly 2 million fewer working-age immigrants in the United States than there would have been if immigration had remained unchanged before the pandemic, according to new research from the University of California, Davis.
Giovanni Pelli, author of the study and director of the University of California, Davis, said, “Part of the reason there are so many vacancies and jobs buried in the United States is because of the pre-coronavirus pandemic. We are missing out on many immigrants who regularly come to the United States,” he said. Global Migration Center.
A surge at the U.S.-Mexico border has rekindled the immigration debate. In March 2020, President Trump invoked Title 42. Title 42 was a law enacted during the pandemic to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, keeping immigrants and asylum seekers from leaving the country.
Asylum seekers can legally work in the United States while awaiting asylum applications. During this waiting period, asylum seekers can apply for a work permit. This process usually takes 180 days to be approved.
But the decline in legal immigration over the past two years has hurt American business. Especially in industries that require a low-skilled workforce, such as construction, agriculture, and hospitality.
“Unless we really change immigration laws and allow more people to enter each year, we will not be able to make up for the loss,” Peri said. “The way we are catching up is that we are processing visas at the speed we were doing before Covid. So there will be this gap for a while.”
Wages are rising and inflation is accelerating due to a shortage of available workers. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the shortage of foreign workers, in addition to an aging workforce, is contributing to the labor shortage.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last month that “the sharp decline in net immigration during the pandemic combined with the surge in deaths probably accounts for about 1.5 million missing workers.” said.
The biggest impact will be on industries such as construction, agriculture and especially hospitality that rely on migrant workers. A study by the University of California, Davis found that these industries had a high percentage of job openings with no job openings last year, adding to existing labor shortages. There are currently 10.3 million job openings in the US, of which 377,000 are in construction and 1.6 million in hospitality. That number has increased in recent months.
“Hospitality [sector] Employing a significant number of immigrants, 30% to 40% of the workforce in the sector was foreign-born. So you might miss a lot of them, and that could have a big impact,” Peri said.
The restaurant industry has been bearing the brunt of declining immigration. Slow service, reduced lunch hours at restaurants, and higher prices are all the result of a labor shortage. According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry is expected to grow 14% over the next decade, but the U.S.-born workforce is expected to grow by only 10%. There are more restaurant jobs than the U.S. workforce can fill: According to the National Restaurant Association, 60% of restaurateurs are facing staffing shortages, limiting their ability to operate.
But a new bill, the Essential Workers for Economic Development Act, was introduced by the House of Representatives earlier this year. The law creates new visa programs for workers in industries such as hospitality.
Sean Kennedy, EVP of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association, said: “Allowing more legal immigrants will be a win-win for employers in dire need of employees and for individuals seeking new opportunities.”
About one million of the two million potential immigrants lost in the pandemic had a college education, according to a University of California, Davis study. These workers are considered “highly skilled workers” and may come to the United States on H-1B special visas.
These highly skilled workers will double their jobs. According to a University of California, Berkeley report, 2.5 additional jobs are created for each highly skilled worker.
“Highly skilled immigrants are very important,” said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at the Economic Innovation Group. But in the long term, it’s very important: innovation, productivity, growth and economic health.”
Earlier this month, the Federation of American Farmers, along with 350 other farming groups, called on the Senate to pass the House-passed farm reform bill to address the farm labor crisis. The skilled foreign farm worker is the backbone of U.S. agriculture, and traditionally he stays in the U.S. on an H-2A seasonal visa, according to the Department of Agriculture. But many farmers say that wasn’t enough and they still can’t find workers.
“The farm worker crisis is hampering production and causing food price inflation. We can continue to supply clothing and fuel.
However, according to the Labor Department, 317,000 temporary H-2A jobs were certified last year, more than six times the number in 2005.