Migrant Workers Reportedly Secure Better Pay as US Employers Scramble to Hire; U.S. Business Owners Pay Premium to Hire Migrant Workers in Extremely Tight Labor Market

NY POST: Migrant workers reportedly secure better pay as US employers scramble to hire:

Migrant workers are reportedly securing more job opportunities with better pay and conditions as US employers scramble to keep their businesses humming despite historically tight labor conditions.

Many business owners are “paying a premium for migrant workers” due to a shortage of available workers who are US citizens, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The report noted that the pool of migrant workers securing jobs includes both those with valid work permits and others who lack proper documentation and entered the country illegally.

Luis Reyes, the owner of Washington, DC, restaurant Lauriol Plaza, told the paper he has resorted to putting up fliers in areas with large populations of migrants in a bid to increase staff.

“The scarcity is huge,” Reyes said. “It’s a terrible stress. Many times I suffer from insomnia thinking about what we are going to do to give service.”

Reyes has reportedly boosted benefits and handed out cash bonuses of anywhere from $250 to $5,000 to employees in December.

Exact statistics detailing migrant pay are nearly impossible to obtain, but the World Bank estimated that remittance payments from the US to Latin American countries jumped by 9% to $142 billion last year — a sign that workers are flush with more cash. —>READ MORE HERE

WSJ: U.S. Business Owners Pay Premium to Hire Migrant Workers in Extremely Tight Labor Market:

Migrants who come to the U.S. to find work are now being hired more quickly, at higher pay and under better working conditions than at any time in recent memory. In many cases, employers and economists say, migrant workers are being paid as well as their American counterparts.

Job vacancies in the U.S. increased to 11 million at the end of December, according to the Labor Department. While the tightness appears to be easing in the white-collar job market, employers say finding hourly wage workers remains a challenge. Unemployment hit 3.4% in January, the lowest rate in 53 years. Many small businesses say they are unable to hire enough native-born and naturalized workers and are paying a premium for migrant workers.

It’s another aspect of the hot labor market that is pushing up wages and prices for consumers, keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates to fight inflation.

A shortage of cooks and dishwashers prompted Luis Reyes, owner of Washington, D.C., restaurant Lauriol Plaza, to distribute fliers in subway stations and at bus stops in neighborhoods with large migrant communities.

“The scarcity is huge,” Mr. Reyes said. “It’s a terrible stress. Many times I suffer from insomnia thinking about what we are going to do to give service.”

Mr. Reyes has raised wages and boosted benefits to retain staff, the vast majority of whom are migrants. As a Christmas bonus, he said he used to distribute free lunch certificates before the Covid-19 pandemic. Last December, he handed out cash bonuses ranging from $250 to $5,000 for “those in the kitchen who represent the soul of the restaurant.”

The pool of migrants seeking employment in the U.S. includes those with and without valid work permits. Some migrants have crossed the border illegally and evaded capture, relying on underground networks of friends and relatives to find work. Many others have asked for asylum upon entering the country, triggering a multiyear court process that eventually allows them to get work permits—which result in higher wages—while they wait. Still others have been granted seasonal work visas, but employers say there aren’t nearly enough of these visas to meet demand. —>READ MORE HERE

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