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The Solution to the American Labor Problem
One of the greatest Greek tragedians, Sophocles, once said, “Without labor, nothing prospers.” True to this, the US economic system thrives on the strength of its workforce. Yet, the country has been grappling with an acute labor shortage for more than two decades. Congress has been of no help to the situation because, for over 35 years, it has been unable to provide a long-term solution to the workforce crisis.
America needs to wake up to a new reality: Immigration is the solution to the worker problem. While Congress has been lax, there are other paths the executive could take to fill the gap in the current workforce—relying on immigration from abroad to fill existing jobs.
It is no longer a choice but a necessity.
Americans have begun to feel the effects of a dwindling workforce. In fact, in 2022 alone, food price inflation hit an all-time high of 12 percent. Moreover, statistics show that the situation will only worsen due to the aging population.
For a broader perspective on this emerging problem, consider the job openings in 2022 alone, which reveal a worrying trend: There were twice as many job openings as unemployed workers. This pattern has been consistent for more than a decade, with the number of job openings increasing at a rate of 12 percent per year since 2012.
So, what should the government do?
It should open new labor mobility channels and improve existing ones.
“The demand for a foreign workforce has been rising over the years, and if legal avenues for sourcing this labor are blocked or poorly designed, employers will be inclined to hire undocumented workers,” says immigration lawyer Zaira Solano of Solano Immigration Law Firm.
For instance, looking at the agricultural sector, the number of H-2A workers tripled between 2013 and 2021. The same can be observed in other industries, with the demand for H-2B visas also showing an upward trajectory.
Moving on to the healthcare industry, another disturbing trend surfaces. Currently, immigrants comprise 38 percent of health aides, and while this may seem reassuring, it is far from it.
By 2060, a quarter of the US population will be over 65, demanding an additional 75 percent of healthcare workers. Consequently, at some point, the government will need to make it easier for foreign workers to enter the country. The same can be observed in the construction industry, where there were 390,000 job openings per month in 2022.
Given these revelations, Congress and the Department of Labor must comprehensively list occupations with critical worker shortages. It is surprising that the list of occupations facing dire shortages, for which employers are exempt from certain costly and time-consuming steps of the process, has remained unchanged since 1991, despite significant economic changes since then. These government bodies should then revise such provisions, ensuring labor mobility pathways allow for sufficient levels of immigration to address employers’ needs.
Should politicians fail to solve the growing labor crisis by reviewing existing regulations and implementing new ones, America will continue to feel the effects of a dwindling labor force.
