Immigration vs. Teen Employment; Study Finds Immigrant Competition Contributes to Decline in Work

/PRNewswire/ -- The summer of 2010 is shaping up to be worst summer ever for the employment of U.S.-born teenagers (16 to 19 years old). But even before the current recession, the share of U.S.-born teens in the labor force - working or looking for work - was declining. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies finds that competition with immigrants (legal and illegal) explains a significant share of this decline. The fall in teen employment is worrisome because a large body of research shows that those who do not hold jobs as teenagers often fail to develop the work habits necessary to function in the labor market, creating significant negative consequences for them later in life.

The report, "A Drought of Summer Jobs: Immigration and the Long-Term Decline in Employment Among U.S.-Born Teenagers," can be found at http://www.cis.org/teen-unemployment

Among the findings:

-- The summer of 2009 was the worst summer ever experienced by U.S.-born
teenagers (16-19) since citizenship data was first collected in 1994.
Just 45 percent were in the labor force, which means they worked or
were looking for work. Only one-third actually held a job.

-- Between the summers of 1994 and 2000, a period of significant economic
expansion, the labor force participation of U.S.-born teens actually
declined from 64 percent to 61 percent. By the summer of 2007, before
the current recession, it was down to 48 percent.

-- The number of U.S.-born teenagers not in the labor force increased
from 4.7 million in 1994 to 8.1 million in 2007. In the summer of 2009
it stood at 8.8 million.

-- The severity of the decline is similar for U.S.-born black, Hispanic,
and white teens. The fall-off is also similar for teenagers from both
high- and low-income households.

-- Immigrants and teenagers often do the same kind of work. In the summer
of 2007, in the 10 occupations employing the most U.S.-born teenagers,
one in five workers was an immigrant.

-- Comparisons across states in 2007 show that in the 10 states where
immigrants are the largest share of workers, just 45 percent of
U.S.-born teens were in the summer labor force, compared to 58 percent
in the 10 states where immigrants are the smallest share of workers.

-- Looking at change over time shows that a 10 percentage-point increase
in the immigrant share of a state's work force from 1994 to 2007
reduced the labor force participation rate of U.S.-born teenagers by
7.9 percentage points.

-- Among the states with high immigration and low teen labor force
participation are Nevada, New Jersey, Georgia, Arizona, Texas, North
Carolina, California, and New York.

-- The most likely reason immigrants displace U.S.-born teenagers is that
the vast majority of immigrants are fully developed adults -
relatively few people migrate before age 20. This gives immigrants a
significant advantage over U.S.-born teenagers, who typically have
much less work experience.

-- Summer is the focus of this report; however, the decline in the
employment of U.S.-born teenagers is year-round, including a decline
during the other peak period of seasonal employment at Christmas.

-- Although there is good evidence that immigration is reducing teenage
labor market participation, other factors have likely also contributed
to this problem.

-- One factor that does not explain the decline is an increase in unpaid
internships among U.S.-born teenagers. High-income and college-bound
teens are the most likely to be in internships, yet teenage high
school dropouts and those from the lowest income families show the
same decline. Moreover, there are only about 100,000 internships (paid
and unpaid) in the country. The increase in U.S.-born teenagers not in
the labor force was 3.4 million between 1994 and 2007.


Discussion: The primary reason to be concerned about the decline in teenage employment is that research shows consistently that it is as a young person that workers develop the skills and habits necessary to function in the labor market. Poor work habits and weak labor force attachment developed as a teenager can follow a person throughout life. As a result, those who do not work as teenagers earn less and work less often later in life than those who were employed in their teenage years, especially those who do not go on to college.

Businesses have repeatedly argued that there are not enough seasonal workers. If seasonal workers were truly in short supply, the share of teenagers in the labor force would have increased significantly, not fallen dramatically. There is good evidence that immigration accounts for a significant share of the decline in teenage summer labor force participation. In many of the occupations where teenage employment declined the most, immigrants made significant job gains. Comparisons across states in 2007 show a strong relationship between the growth in the immigrant population and the decline in teenage employment. The finding that immigration is reducing labor force participation of teenagers parallels the conclusion of newly published working paper from the Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve, "The Impact of Low-Skilled Immigration on the Youth Labor Market."

The decision to allow in large numbers of legal immigrants (temporary and permanent) and to tolerate large-scale illegal immigration and to turn away from employing U.S.-born teenagers may be seen as desirable by some businesses. However, this policy choice may have significant long-term consequences for American workers as they enter adulthood. The potential impact of continued large-scale immigration on teenagers is something that should be considered when formulating immigration policy in the future.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.

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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Launches Updated Employment Website

(BUSINESS WIRE)--J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) today announced the Company has launched an improved version of its popular employment website, www.jbhunt.jobs. Prospective employees may now utilize a host of new features and user-friendly navigation designed to streamline the job search and application process.

“It is our goal to provide applicants information about our Company, our employees and our benefits as well as an outlet for them to contact us regarding employment opportunities.”

An updated job-search feature allows applicants to obtain real-time information about driving, office and maintenance careers, as well as internships and benefits. From corporate responsibility to J.B. Hunt’s focus on diversity and sustainability, applicants have the information they need to know about life at J.B. Hunt, while taking advantage of improved capabilities that include:

* The ability to search real-time job postings by city and state or by zip code and apply online for open positions
* A job alert feature to provide drivers with job opening notifications by phone, text or email
* A Driver chat function which allows drivers to have their questions answered instantly by a Company hiring representative
* Streamlined navigation throughout the site

“We continue to focus on providing the best user experience possible by increasing interaction with prospective employees,” said Kirk Thompson, president and CEO for J.B. Hunt. “It is our goal to provide applicants information about our Company, our employees and our benefits as well as an outlet for them to contact us regarding employment opportunities.”

The most significant changes to the site focus on the driver section. With an updated job alert function, interested drivers can choose for J.B. Hunt to contact them by phone, email or text when a driving position becomes available in their area. The site also provides easier access to information on local and regional driving jobs, which can provide drivers more quality time at home as well as strong W2 earnings.

J.B. Hunt is a dynamic and diverse organization of more than 14,500 employees nationwide. For more information on employment opportunities, or to view the new site, visit www.jbhunt.jobs.

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Cbeyond to Drive Economic Growth in Atlanta with Headquarter Expansion

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that communications and IT provider Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY), will double the size of its operations in Georgia. Cbeyond plans to create over 600 new jobs and is planning to build out a new call center and training facility, fueling economic development in Cobb County and throughout metro Atlanta.

"As a state, we have worked hard to attract quality, high-tech companies like Cbeyond and it is especially gratifying to watch them grow and succeed," said Governor Perdue. "Georgia has the workforce and business-friendly environment to help companies like Cbeyond reach new heights in business growth."

Cbeyond plans to expand its Georgia employment from approximately 700 to more than 1,400 by 2013. Job opportunities will range from sales, customer care, Information Technology (IT), operations and marketing - virtually all areas of the organization, as the company expands and builds its business over the next three to four years. Applicants interested in applying for a position should visit http://www.cbeyond.net/careers for more information.

"We have built Cbeyond from the ground up in Georgia and we are pleased to continue expanding our operations here," said Jim Geiger, Chief Executive Officer of Cbeyond. "Considering the difficult times facing the U.S. economy, having the opportunity to bring much needed economic development to Atlanta is gratifying, and is a testament to our business model. Georgia's talent pool is robust and those future employees will allow us to grow to the next level."

Cbeyond was born in Atlanta in 2000 with only 15 employees. Today, Cbeyond has more than 700 employees in Atlanta and more than 1,600 across the country. The company continues to grow rapidly (and without debt of any kind) in every area of its business, and was recently named by Forbes magazine as the sixth-fastest growing technology company in the country. Cbeyond was built by its founders from the ground up to serve the unique technology and communications needs of small businesses in major metropolitan areas across the country. From its modest beginnings, Cbeyond now provides service to more than 44,000 such businesses across 12 markets.

"Cbeyond is the exact type of business we are seeking to grow in Cobb County," said Cobb Commissioner Chair Sam Olens. "They have a great vision, a proven record in the technology industry and will provide excellent employment opportunities for our community. It has been great working alongside the state of Georgia to help bring these new technology jobs to Cobb County."

"Atlanta is considered to be a hub of innovation in America," said Hans Gant, Senior Vice President of Economic Development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. "Cbeyond's expansion solidifies metro Atlanta's growing reputation in communications and information technology, and will help build and support metro Atlanta's small businesses and entrepreneurs."

The expansion will take place at Cbeyond's Interstate North Parkway location off Windy Hill Road and highway 75. Andrew Neumann, project manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development assisted the company in its expansion.

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U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final H-2A Rule

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Employment Standards Administration (ESA) today published a final rule that modernizes the H-2A program for employing foreign workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs, and enhances important worker protections.

"These reforms will improve the operation of the H-2A program for agricultural employers and help ensure that the employment of temporary foreign workers does not adversely affect U.S. workers," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

Many of the program's regulations have not been updated in more than 20 years. Last year, only about 75,000 positions were certified to be filled by legal H-2A workers, while there are an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 undocumented workers employed on America's farms.

The changes will update the H-2A program to improve the process for hiring legal foreign agricultural workers when no U.S. workers can be found. Unlike the proposed AgJOBS legislation, which would arbitrarily slash agricultural workers' wages, the revised H-2A regulations will set required wages according to prevailing local market rates, a methodology that has been used successfully in other temporary worker programs.

Regulatory updates include reducing unnecessarily duplicative filing, and federal and state government review of applications. Required employer recruitment for U.S. workers will begin earlier, thereby giving U.S. workers additional notice of available jobs, and employers will be required to submit an initial recruitment report to the department prior to receiving certification.

The rule establishes enhanced penalties for violations and new tools to ensure employer compliance, including audits, revocation of approved labor certifications, increased debarment authority and substantial increases in fines - up to $100,000 for violations resulting in serious injury or death of a worker. The rule also will prohibit employers and recruiters from charging fees to workers for access to jobs, a practice that in the past has led to many reported abuses.

The Office of Management and Budget has cleared the rule, which appears in today's Federal Register. The rule will become effective on Jan. 17, 2009.

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Despite Slight Dip in October, IT Employment Continues to Outperform General Employment Market

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While the news in the general employment market in October was horrific, IT employment dipped only slightly, according to the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks monthly IT employment.

With a slight dip of 3,000 jobs (.08%) in October, the association reported IT employment stood at 3,916,200. Even with the modest decline in October, IT employment has displayed surprising resilience during the year. From October 2007 through the current month, IT employment was still up 4.5 percent -- far outpacing the general employment market. The broader job market continues to shed jobs at an alarming rate, losing 284,000 jobs in September (a significant upward revision) and an additional 240,000 jobs in October.

"The contraction of IT employment in October was not surprising. Given all the turmoil in the economy and the devastating job losses in the general employment market in recent months, we are relieved that the decline in October was a modest one," commented Mark Roberts, CEO of NACCB. "While the long-term growth prospects of IT employment remains very strong, I anticipate there will be significant challenges in the short-term and mid-term in light of the deteriorating macroeconomic picture," said Roberts.

The IT employment index is published by the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), the national trade association representing IT staffing and solutions firms. For complete IT Index please visit: www.naccb.org/employment-index/index.cfm.

Technical note: NACCB's IT Employment Index is the first specific measurement of IT employment. This unique measurement of total IT employment is created monthly by studying the ongoing staffing patterns of a dozen IT and computer related occupations in 16 industries and industry sectors employing significant numbers of IT workers including the manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial, information services, business and professional services, and education and health industries. The monthly IT Employment Index is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, which is subject to monthly revisions, with concomitant revisions to the Index. The IT Employment Index is also subject to annual revisions of BLS data. The IT Index was rebenchmarked in February 2008 with the publication of the BLS January 2008 employment report, reflecting significant revisions of employment data from the past several years.

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Georgia Headed into Troubled Economy Before Fully Recovering From 2001 Recession

A report released today by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute concludes that even as the current economic slowdown hit, Georgia families were still trying to recover from the 2001 recession and its aftermath. The report, State of Working Georgia 2008, examines job growth, unemployment, income, and benefits, using data from the Current Population Survey and American Community Survey, among other sources.

The key findings surrounding the current economic slowdown include:

* From September 2007 to September 2008, Georgia lost 61,100 nonfarm jobs and was one of only five states to experience a statistically significant employment decrease, according to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
* The number of unemployed workers rose by roughly 100,000 between September 2007 and September 2008, for a total of 317,500 out-of-work Georgians in September 2008. Georgia had the 15th highest unemployment rate in the nation in September.

Data for 2007 on underemployment, incomes, and benefits show that Georgia workers had not fully regained the ground lost during the 2001 recession. In short, before the 2008 economic crisis started, Georgians were still trying to recover from the 2001 recession, as was the case in many states. Data from BLS and Census Bureau surveys show:

* About 8 percent of workers were underemployed in 2007, compared to 6.3 percent in 2001. Underemployed includes unemployed workers, marginally attached workers, and part-time workers who would like full-time jobs.
* Median household income in 2007 remained statistically unchanged compared to 2001, after adjusting for inflation.
* The poverty rate remained high at 14.3 percent in 2007, compared to 11.7 percent in 2001.
* In 2006-2007, 59.9 percent of non-elderly Georgians were covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, compared to 64.4 percent in 2000-2001. The percent of Georgians lacking health coverage rose from 15.0 percent in 2000-2001 to 17.6 percent in 2006-2007.

"The employment conditions in Georgia pose both short-term and long-term challenges, as policymakers must confront the current slowdown and the continued effects of the 2001 recession," noted Sarah Beth Gehl, Deputy Director of GBPI. "For the short-term, our leaders must protect vital public services as workers face unemployment and increased income insecurity. For the long-term, policymakers should focus on raising adult education levels and strengthening work and income supports for workers in low-paying jobs."

The report also examines employment conditions and income based on race, gender, and education, as well as income earned by each income quintile. The report provides budget and policy recommendations for both the current economic crisis and the long-term economic challenges faced by low-income working families.

Short-term recommendations -

* Call on Congress to pass an economic recovery package that includes additional weeks of unemployment benefits, a temporary increase in Food Stamp benefits, and state fiscal relief. (For estimates on the additional funds Georgia would receive under U.S. House and Senate packages, find tables at the end of this report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.)
* Target budget cuts to lower priority programs. With a potential $2 billion state budget shortfall, the state has made across-the-board budget cuts to most state agencies. As Georgia families experience dramatic financial strain in 2008, leaders must ensure that vital government services are adequately funded. Medicaid, PeachCare, child care, and education, to name a few, should be spared as much as possible.
* Raise revenues through strategic tax increases. Rather than relying overwhelming on budget cuts, there should a balanced approached to the budget shortfall, including strategic tax increases. Raising the cigarette tax or implementing a temporary income tax surcharge, for example, would provide needed revenues to avoid further cuts to public services.
* Use the revenue shortfall reserve. Through good fiscal management, Georgia has a $1 billion rainy day fund. Now is the time to use it.

Long-term recommendations -

* Increase the capacity for adult basic education. Georgia invests around $14 per adult without a GED in adult basic education, compared to the national average of $64. Georgia should increase its investment in this area, along with outreach efforts towards nontraditional students and support services for families seeking education opportunities.
* Undertake additional outreach efforts for Medicaid and PeachCare. Of the 300,000 uninsured children in Georgia, an estimated 200,000 are eligible for Medicaid or PeachCare, but not enrolled. Getting eligible children and families enrolled in existing programs can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of available healthcare programs. The federal government covers a majority of the cost of these programs, with an almost 2 to 1 match for Medicaid and 3 to 1 match for PeachCare.
* Increase child care assistance for low- and moderate-income working families. Georgia uses federal dollars to assist low-income families with child care costs, but continues to have a waiting list for assistance. At the same time, Georgia subsidizes child care through the tax system, with millions of forgone tax dollars subsiziding child care for upper-income families. Policymakers should end the child care subsidy for higher-income Georgians and more fully assist low-income working families.
* Create a state earned income tax credit (EITC), enhance outreach efforts around the federal EITC, and raise the state minimum wage to the federal level.

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