Big Business Pushes for More Foreign Workers, but Data Show Jobs are Still Scarce
Earlier today, Pres. Obama brought several business executives to the White House to discuss ways to encourage the House to vote on the Schumer-Rubio amnesty bill, S.744, before the end of the year. The bill, which would result in 33 million new work permits being issued in the first 10 years by granting amnesty to 11-18 million illegal aliens and doubling annual legal immigration flows, is being sold by the White House as a way to boost the economy and create jobs.
I continue to be hopeful that with the leadership of many who are around this table who represent hundreds of thousands of employees and billions of dollars of assets, who are important in their communities all across the country, them joining up with law enforcement, clergy, citizens, to make the case that ultimately folks up on Capitol Hill will do the right thing.
-- Pres. Obama
There was one group that wasn't represented, however, at today's White House meeting - America's unemployed.
According to the latest national unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 90 million working-age Americans are not in the labor force. Part of that group includes the more than 20 million Americans who want a full-time job but can't find one.
A non-partisan think tank in Washington D.C., the Economic Policy Institute, keeps tabs on the number of unemployed workers in each industry and compares it with the number of available jobs. On their most recent update, not one of the 17 industries they track has a worker shortage.
Attending Pres. Obama's meeting today were Arne Sorenson, the president and CEO of Marriott, and Don Thompson, president and CEO of McDonalds, both are pushing for increases in foreign workers, and yet, according to the EPI chart, the accomodation and food service industry currently has three unemployed workers for every open job.
Also in attendance were Roger Altman, founder and chairman of the investment firm Evercore Partners, Greg Brown, chairman and CEO of Motorola, and Joe Echevarria, CEO of Deloitte. Once again, the EPI data show a huge number of unemployed workers in the field compared to available jobs in professional and business services - roughly two unemployed Americans for every available job.
The Economic Policy Institute says that it focuses on the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families. It receives nearly a third of its funding from unions. The organization states on its website that it supports "comprehensive immigration reform", but it did oppose the Schumer-Rubio amnesty because it didn't do nearly enough to stop illegal immigration and prevent employers from hiring illegal workers in the future, among other things.
Click on the chart to view on the EPI website.
CHRIS CHMIELENSKI is the Director of Content & Activism for NumbersUSA