Digging yet deeper into the BLS numbers shows that many hundreds of thousands of IT workers who lost their jobs since 2002 and were lucky enough to find other IT-related employment have done so at lower salaries and are underemployed. Furthermore, people who don't find other IT-related employment are dropped from BLS statistics altogether - they are considered to have "left the labor force." The real IT unemployment rate is higher than whatever figures BLS posts in any given year or quarter, because it simply makes no allowance for the many hundreds of thousands of IT workers who remain unemployed or have take a job at WalMart. They vanish from statistical tables.
Yet, in the face of such unemployment, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and other technology industry executives lament they are perplexed by the declining enrollment in computer science programs at the nation's universities. In March Gates personally added his voice to his company's lobbying effort to expand the number of foreign-born computer scientists allowed to work in this country under H-1B visas.
But many IT professionals question whether the scarcity of qualified employees is as dire as Gates and others claim given the high IT worker unemployment rate. There ARE unemployed U.S.-born computer scientists, many with advanced degrees, available to fill the Microsoft positions; they just cost more to employee than Chinese or Indian computer scientists.
Now the Bush Administration and his GOP controlled US Congress want to further undercut U.S.-born students, their parents and the U.S. workforce in general. President Bush and Congress are about to greatly expand the H1B and L1 "guest worker" visa programs via the giant Immigration Bill, now pending before US Congress.
There are proposals that would expand the annual H1B limit from 65,000 to 115,000 by excluding dependents which are now are counted against the cap from the total, it could mean the entry of as many as 300,000 people a year, with an option of raising the cap 20 per cent more each year.
If passed, the Bill would open US' doors to highly skilled immigrants for science, math, technology and engineering jobs from India, China and other nations.
The H1-B visa provisions were sought by Silicon Valley technology companies and enjoy significant bipartisan support amid concern that the United States might lose its lead in technology, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The provision for highly skilled workers enjoys support in both parties in the Senate and in President George W Bush's administration after a raft of high-profile studies have warned that the United States is not producing enough math and science students and is in danger of losing its global edge in innovation to India and China.
The new skilled immigration measures are part of a controversial 300-page bill by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, now being rewritten by the committee with the goal of reaching the Senate floor by the end of the month.
Other provisions in the bill include a new F-4 visa category for students pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. These students would be granted permanent residence if they find a job in their field and pay a $1,000 fee toward scholarships and training of US workers.
Other proposals in the bill include streamlining labor certification rules for foreigners holding the desired advanced degrees from a US university.
Immigrants with advanced degrees in the desired fields, as well as those of 'extraordinary ability' and 'outstanding professors and researchers,' would also get an exemption from the cap on employment-based green cards and slots for permanent residence.
Other legislation being contemplated would also allow up to 600,000 skilled professional guest workers to enter the U.S. in a single year. This would be the biggest one time expansion of the H-1b visa program to date. These are highly paid, highly qualified individuals. Salaries for these jobs at Microsoft start at about $100,000 a year.
Legislation like this would result in displacing domestic workers in favor of guest workers, stagnating and driving down wages and working conditions further and it also does nothing to address the current abuses employees face from the program.
Among the most blatant provisions:
· A retroactive increase to 195,000 from the current 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the years of 2004-2006, in effect allowing for a one time visa grab by employers of nearly 400,000 visas!
Yet, in the face of such unemployment, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and other technology industry executives lament they are perplexed by the declining enrollment in computer science programs at the nation's universities. In March Gates personally added his voice to his company's lobbying effort to expand the number of foreign-born computer scientists allowed to work in this country under H-1B visas.
But many IT professionals question whether the scarcity of qualified employees is as dire as Gates and others claim given the high IT worker unemployment rate. There ARE unemployed U.S.-born computer scientists, many with advanced degrees, available to fill the Microsoft positions; they just cost more to employee than Chinese or Indian computer scientists.
Now the Bush Administration and his GOP controlled US Congress want to further undercut U.S.-born students, their parents and the U.S. workforce in general. President Bush and Congress are about to greatly expand the H1B and L1 "guest worker" visa programs via the giant Immigration Bill, now pending before US Congress.
If passed, the Bill would open US' doors to highly skilled immigrants for science, math, technology and engineering jobs from India, China and other nations.
The H1-B visa provisions were sought by Silicon Valley technology companies and enjoy significant bipartisan support amid concern that the United States might lose its lead in technology, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The provision for highly skilled workers enjoys support in both parties in the Senate and in President George W Bush's administration after a raft of high-profile studies have warned that the United States is not producing enough math and science students and is in danger of losing its global edge in innovation to India and China.
The new skilled immigration measures are part of a controversial 300-page bill by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, now being rewritten by the committee with the goal of reaching the Senate floor by the end of the month.
Other provisions in the bill include a new F-4 visa category for students pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. These students would be granted permanent residence if they find a job in their field and pay a $1,000 fee toward scholarships and training of US workers.
Other proposals in the bill include streamlining labor certification rules for foreigners holding the desired advanced degrees from a US university.
Immigrants with advanced degrees in the desired fields, as well as those of 'extraordinary ability' and 'outstanding professors and researchers,' would also get an exemption from the cap on employment-based green cards and slots for permanent residence.
Other legislation being contemplated would also allow up to 600,000 skilled professional guest workers to enter the U.S. in a single year. This would be the biggest one time expansion of the H-1b visa program to date. These are highly paid, highly qualified individuals. Salaries for these jobs at Microsoft start at about $100,000 a year.
Legislation like this would result in displacing domestic workers in favor of guest workers, stagnating and driving down wages and working conditions further and it also does nothing to address the current abuses employees face from the program.
Among the most blatant provisions:
· A retroactive increase to 195,000 from the current 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the years of 2004-2006, in effect allowing for a one time visa grab by employers of nearly 400,000 visas!
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