This week marks the first anniversary of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and other economic programs which The Biden administration said have been “transformative.”
But as economic investment is aimed at helping businesses grow, many businesses are saying they can’t grow because there are not enough workers. They now want to hire more immigrant workers.
The Biden administration's “Investing in America” agenda is providing billions of dollars for businesses to grow in manufacturing, construction and green energy projects.
But According to American business Immigration Coalition, there are not enough American workers to fill the jobs. They are urging the president to expand workforce authorization to legally fill jobs with immigrant workers.
Donny Gibson owns Civil Werks, a general contracting business in Las Vegas, who said not only is the current workforce aging out, there is a lack of domestic workers willing to learn new trade skills. Gibson said the consequences are beginning to show.
“We have seen the cost of hourly workers increase by over 25%. Our cost of training new employees has risen by 40%. More importantly, the demand is here that would allow us to double our workforce tomorrow, but the applicants are simply not coming in,” he said.
Gibson and other business owners are urging the president to “use his legal authority to expand workforce authorizations” for new and “long-term contributing immigrants” in the U.S.
Construction companies are turning down millions or delaying projects because of the lack of labor.
"Cities like Las Vegas, which are anticipating a major population growth over the next several decades, will not only be slow to keep up with infrastructure, but will miss the chance to enjoy the full potential for economic development and prosperity,” said Gibson.
Ultimately, he said it results in higher costs for everything ranging from housing to groceries.
