Ask Congress To Address Jobs Shortage By Improving Immigration Policy

U.S. jobs openings increased by 56,000 from August to September, and there are now 3.2 million more job openings than unemployed workers in the country. The gap between job openings and available workers is likely to persist in the United States due to accelerating Baby Boomer retirements and declining birth rates.

Employers, especially small businesses and manufacturing and metals firms, deal with the worker shortage every day and that is one reason the Metals Service Center Institute joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s campaign to modernize the U.S. legal immigration so it can better respond to businesses’ needs.

MSCI member company leaders and employees can add their voices to the campaign by clicking here.

The campaign asks federal lawmakers to:

• Increase the human, physical, and technological resources along the southern border and at our ports of entry that will secure the country’s borders;
• Sensibly reform U.S. asylum laws;
• Institute modern, effective, and efficient employment verification reforms;
• Significantly increase the annual quotas for employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visas;
• Expand the scope of essential worker programs, specifically allowing employers to meet temporary labor needs in non-seasonal jobs; and
• Create new visa options for international students, entrepreneurs, and other high-demand workers to help American employers meet their critical workforce needs.