"We need an immigration policy designed with our economy's interests in mind. Ponnuru argues that inflation right now is largely caused by problems in the supply chain, and that simply bringing immigration back to pre-COVID levels won't solve those problems. "I don't think it's going to do much to fix our inflation problem," said Ramesh Ponnuru, the editor of the National Review, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank in Washington. Economists say that's contributing to inflation across the economy - and some are skeptical that a partial rebound in the number of guest workers and immigrants will have a measurable impact. The costs of food and energy are still rising fast. Some economists doubt that more immigration will cure inflation "We raised prices because of payroll, but not nearly as much as we had to raise prices because of food costs." Without those international student workers, she says, her year-round staff worked a lot of overtime last summer, driving her labor costs way up. Wood is also participating in the J-1 visa program this year. "I worked 183 days straight at the front desk, and my husband worked more than that in the kitchen," she said. I mean all of our staff work six, seven days. "We were 32 employees short last summer," said Susan Wood, who owns the Cultured Pearl Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Rehoboth Beach. That's especially true, he says, in industries that depend heavily on immigrant labor, like hospitality. "If these shortages loosens up - so if there are more workers - this should also reduce the inflationary pressures," Peri said. He says that's contributed to a tighter labor market, putting pressure on employers to raise wages - and in turn, prices. economy is about two million working-age immigrants short of where it would have been if not for the pandemic and the Trump administration's cuts, according to Peri. More guest workers could help ease labor shortages That would put the program at roughly three-quarters of its enrollment in 2019, when more than 108,000 visas were issued. Roughly 30,000 participants have started the program already this year, according to a State Department official, with about 50,000 more in the pipeline. The State Department says the number of participants in its summer work travel program is rebounding toward pre-pandemic levels. "When the person had told me the type of job that I would have encountered, I just said yes!" "There was a listing of all the different places that I could have worked," Bennett said. This summer, Darr is expecting about two dozen student guest workers - including 21-year-old Morgan Bennett, a student from Jamaica.
"Without the J-1 visa program, we wouldn't be able to open half of the stuff that is in the park," he said. The numbers were up last year, though still far short of pre-pandemic levels. But the program was all but shut down in 2020. "Especially at the end of the summer, early August, we lose college students, we lose high school students back to sports and theater programs," said Darr, a fourth-generation member of the family that owns the park.įor decades, he says, Funland has relied on students coming to the U.S. Without them, Darr says, he couldn't hire enough people to keep Funland open every day. "Hopefully if this trend continues, and maybe accelerates, we will see the easing of some of the shortages," said Giovanni Peri, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis.īusinesses in Rehoboth Beach rely on seasonal guest workersĮmployers in Rehoboth Beach are clearly glad to have these temporary student workers back. The Biden administration has released more visas for seasonal guest workers, and it's automatically extending work permits for others.Įconomists say that should ease labor shortages - and some, though not all, think it could help calm inflation too.
Tens of thousands of international students are back at resort towns and amusement parks. The number of guest workers and immigrants coming to the United States is slowly climbing again after steep declines during the pandemic.
"We saw last year, we couldn't fill the positions that we had." "They are truly important to the success of our business," said Chris Darr, the personnel manager at Funland. REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware - When the crowds return to Funland this summer, they'll find familiar rides like the Fire Engines and the Sea Dragon at this small beachside amusement park.įor the first time since the pandemic began, many of those rides and games will be staffed by student guest workers from around the world.
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