Dive Brief:
- A majority of employers plan to hire more foreign workers this year than in 2016, TLNT reports, citing a recent study from Envoy Global, Inc. Competition for top talent continues to grow, and employers intend to fill the skills gap with foreign workers.
- Immigrant labor accounts for 16.7% of the U.S. workforce, or 26.3 million workers, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Although the demand for foreign workers and the H-1B visas they need to work in the U.S. remain high, 83% of employers believe that the Trump administration’s immigration policy hamper their hiring efforts, says TLNT.
Dive Insight:
Despite the Trump administration’s "Buy American and Hire American" response to immigration and H-1B visas, employers say they need the high-level skills many foreign workers have attained, especially in the tech industry.
So far, the courts have rejected the administration’s plans to slow down and even ban, in some cases, immigration. On top of that, the administration’s plans to reform the complex H-1B visa program are on hold. That's leading to more headaches as the number of visa requests far exceeds the set thresholds.
To fill the skills gap, some employers would like the H-1B cap on foreign workers raised above the current cap of 85,000. The raise is unlikely while the immigration debate continues.
