Labor-Intensive Industries
S.C. agriculture needs immigration reform
One of agriculture’s biggest and most demanding concerns is reforming our broken immigration system; an issue that, unfortunately, may not be resolved until after the next presidential election. The 2016 election may seem a long way off, but the race is already heating up with a large pool of candidates. Read More
Senator Sessions, Straight Up
There was something bracingly honest about an op-ed article in The Washington Post last week by Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican. Under the headline “America Needs to Curb Immigration Flows,” Mr. Sessions, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, argued the case… Read More
Agriculture is waiting for immigration reform.
The labor shortage in agriculture continues to be a major problem The labor shortage in agriculture continues to be a major problem and inaction by Congress has exacerbated the situation according to many in the industry. Some say that E-Verify – which is an Internet-based system that allows… Read More
Help Wanted: West Michigan employers grapple with shrinking labor pool, skills gap
Put a group of local executives together to talk about their hiring needs and it probably won’t be long before the phrases start to fly. “Talent gap.” “Skills gap.” “Talent drought.” While the words they use may vary, local employers are nearly universal in calling it a “problem” that could… Read More
South Dakota dairy operators want immigration reform
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – At the Turner County Dairy west of Sioux Falls, finding employees to milk 1,600 cows three times a day isn’t a problem. But dairy owners and industry advocates say if something doesn’t change with the country’s immigration policy and visa programs, America’s food production system… Read More
Immigration changes must aim to retain best, brightest
The history of America is rich in stories of immigrants coming with nothing but a small suitcase of clothes and a dream of a better tomorrow. Odds are good that there is a story like this in your family heritage. Although we may not always notice, immigrants play a key… Read More
Business advocates lobby Congress for more guest workers, high-tech visas
With the push for a broad immigration bill now dead in Congress, business advocates are ramping up their calls for Republicans who run both chambers to at least consider updating the nation’s guest-worker programs to help boost the economy. From overhauling the visa that allows in farmworkers to boosting the… Read More
Fellow conservatives, immigration reform is good policy and good politics: As I See It
Conservative politicians are at a critical point on the issue of immigration reform. Fixing our broken immigration system is one of the most significant challenges currently facing Congress and the White House. Obama’s trampling of the Constitution and his attempt to rule by decree, disgusting though it is, should not… Read More
Dairy farmers, in dire need of workers, feel helpless as immigration reform sours
When Mike McMahon’s Latino employees need to go to the bank, the pharmacy or the grocery store, he makes sure someone drives them to town, waits while they run errands, and then brings them safely back to his dairy farm. Even then, there is no guarantee law enforcement in their… Read More
How immigration reform would affect small businesses
Immigration reform has long been a divisive issue, as politicians, advocacy groups, and pundits fight over whether Congress should grant legal status to the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. But there’s at least one group that has for the most part reliably remained in favor of… Read More
Demographic Shifts
Over the last two decades, the size of the U.S.-born population with a high school degree or less has significantly decreased. This trend is particularly evident among young workers, ages 25-44, the group typically most capable of doing physically demanding work. As this population declined, however, the number of jobs for workers with that education level held steady. Thus, real and persistent gaps in the American workforce have opened up, especially in agriculture, hospitality, and meatpacking. Foreign-born workers—a group considerably more likely than natives to lack education beyond high school—step in to fill those jobs that would otherwise remain vacant.
Sources:
1 New American Economy, “A Crucial Piece of the Puzzle: Demographic Change and Why Immigrants are Needed to Fill America’s Less-Skilled Labor Gap,” March 2014. Available online.
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix 2014-2024, April 2016. Available online.
Educational Breakdown of Foreign-Born and Native-Born Populations, 2014
Occupations Dependent on Immigrants
The foreign-born make up 16.5 percent of the working-age population in the United States. In some particularly labor-intensive fields, their role is much greater. From 2008 to 2012, for instance, immigrants made up 72.9 percent of field and crop workers. In other large industries, such as construction, foreign-born workers frequently take on the most physically demanding roles, while U.S.-born workers frequently prefer positions that require more English-language skills or experience in management or customer service. In fact, of the top 10 occupations with the largest share of immigrant workers, nine of them are labor-intensive in nature or involve repetitive, manual tasks.
Sources:
3 Author’s analysis of 2015 American Community Survey data.
Top 10 Occupations with Highest Share of Immigrant Workers, 20153
Help Wanted
Across communities and industries, employers report trouble finding enough workers. Between 2002 and 2014, the number of field and crop workers in America declined by 146,000, causing major labor shortages on U.S. farms. A rapidly aging population also strains the healthcare workforce, a problem likely to worsen as more Baby Boomers retire. In many fields, immigrants can and do help businesses find the workers they need to compete and grow.
Sources:
4 “2016/2017 Talent Shortage Survey: The United States Results,” ManpowerGroup, n.d., Available online.
5 Home Care Pulse. “2015 Private Duty Benchmarking Study.” April 2015.
6 New American Economy, "International Harvest: A Case Study of How Foreign Workers Help American Farms Grow Crops – and the Economy," May 2013. Available online.
Jobs Americans Won’t Do: Evidence from the North Carolina Farming Industry, 20116
The Impact on American Workers
Although long a controversial issue among academics and policymakers, there is widespread evidence that the presence of more immigrants with relatively low levels of education does not substantially displace U.S.-born workers. Instead, a greater supply of less-skilled immigrants is linked to a decrease in offshoring7 and an expansion of firms on U.S. soil8—resulting in net benefits for U.S.-born workers across the board. The unique way in which immigrants frequently slot into the workforce—gravitating toward more manual or repetitive tasks—also means an influx of less-skilled immigrants has only a moderate impact, if any, on the wages of less-educated U.S.-born workers, particularly over the long term. Instead, they compete most directly with other immigrant workers.9
Sources:
7 Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri, and Greg C. Wright, “Immigration, Offshoring and American Jobs," National Bureau of Economic Research, October 2010. Available online.
8 William W. Olney, “IMMIGRATION AND FIRM EXPANSION,” Journal of Regional Science 53 (2013), doi:10.1111/jors.12004.
9 Heidi Shierholz, “Immigration and Wages: Methodological Advancements Confirm Modest Gains for Native Workers,” February 4, 2010. Available online.
10 Ibid.
11 Findings come from an NAE report that examines the benefit of a one standard deviation increase in birthplace diversity among workers in the bottom half of all earners in a given workplace or metropolitan area. More details can be found in the full report, available here.
12 Based on an analysis of 1998-2008 data; William W. Olney, “IMMIGRATION AND FIRM EXPANSION,” Journal of Regional Science 53 (2013), doi:10.1111/jors.12004.
Estimated Impact of Immigration on the Wages of Less-Educated Workers, 1994-200710
Wage Impact Felt by Employees in the Same Workplace or City When the Lowest Paid Workers Become More Internationally Diverse11
Number of New Establishments that are Created when the Share of Less-Educated Immigrants in a Metropolitan Area Rises by 10 Percent12
Costs of a Farmworker Shortage
In 2014, more than 56 percent of entry-level farmworkers in the United States were immigrants. Given this, changes in immigrant labor supply tend to ripple across the U.S. agriculture economy. In the last decade, a 75 percent slowdown in the arrival of young, low-skilled immigrant farmworkers meant shortages for entry-level field and crop positions. Many farmers report that the H-2A visa program, which allows the recruitment of foreign-born farmworkers, is too cumbersome and expensive—leaving them few ways to replenish their workforce. The result is many farms cutting their production of fresh fruits and vegetables.13
Sources:
13 “NCAE Survey of 2010 H-2A Employers - Final Summary," National Council of Agricultural Employers, December 2011. Available online.
Decline of Field and Crop Workers in Key States, 2002-2014
Inadequate Visa Programs
Although immigrants already help fill gaps in the U.S. labor force, our current immigration system does not allow employers to recruit enough of the specific workers they need. Employers can sponsor low-skilled workers for an agricultural visa (the H-2A visa), or for a visa designed to meet seasonal demand at venues like hotels, amusement parks, and ski resorts (the H-2B visa). Both programs, however, are cumbersome and outdated. And many of the fields that struggle the most to find workers, including healthcare and construction, lack a dedicated visa altogether. Improvements must be made so more industries—and specific geographies—can recruit temporary foreign-born workers when no Americans are available for the job.
Sources:
14 “NCAE Survey of 2010 H-2A Employers - Final Summary, "National Council of Agricultural Employers, December 2011. Available online.
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