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Economic studies consistently show that the temporary, non-immigrant H-2B guest worker program supports and creates American jobs. H-2B workers help sustain the jobs of employers’ full-time, year-round American worker supervisors, administrative staff, management, and mechanics. Additionally, they support downstream jobs for American workers at supplier companies and equipment manufacturers. Economic studies have repeatedly demonstrated the H-2B program’s positive impact on America’s small and seasonal businesses and their American workers:
1. 2020 GAO Study
A 2020 GAO report titled “H-2B Visas: Additional Steps Needed to Meet Employers' Hiring Needs and Protect U.S. Workers” found that counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties without H-2B employers. Specifically, the approximately 700 counties with H-2B employers had, on average, unemployment rates about 0.4 percentage points lower than those in counties without H-2B employers. Moreover, this lower unemployment was consistent in every month from fiscal years 2015 through 2018, regardless of seasonality (see Fig. 5). Further, average weekly wages in counties with H-2B employers were higher by about $113 per week compared to counties without H-2B employers. The average weekly wage for counties with H-2B employers was $866, compared to $754 in counties without them. This wage differential held true for every quarter from fiscal years 2015 through 2018.
Effect on Revenue:
Employers who did not receive all requested H-2B visas under the standard cap more frequently reported revenue declines than employers who did receive visas, according to our analysis of the questionnaire responses (see Fig. 7). Some employers reported that the loss of customers or contracts may have also contributed to these revenue declines. According to the questionnaire responses, 12 of the 14 employers who did not receive all requested H-2B visas under the standard cap reported losing customers and contracts in fiscal year 2018.
Effect on Purchases of Goods and Services:
Based on responses to questionnaire, employers that did not receive all requested H-2B visas under the standard cap more frequently reported declines in purchases of goods and services than employers who received visas in 2018 (see fig. 8).51 Employers’ decisions to delay investments on their businesses may have contributed to declines in the purchases of goods and services. Based on questionnaire responses, 11 of the 15 employers who did not receive all requested H-2B visas under the standard cap reported delayed investments in equipment or maintenance repairs. Additionally, some also reported delayed investments in business expansion. Corroborating what H-2Bemployers reported, nine of the 12 supply companies we interviewed in our case studies said they experienced decreased demand for their services when H-2Bemployers did not get visas or got them late.
2. 2022 Study on the Effect of the DOL Lottery on H-2B Employers
In October 2022, economists Michael Clemens and Ethan Lewis published a study on the effects of the DOL H-2B lottery on revenues, U.S. worker employment, and business investment titled "The Effect of Low-Skill Immigration Restrictions on U.S. Firms and Workers: Evidence from a Randomized Lottery." The study found:
a. Positive Effects on Firms
Firms authorized to hire more H-2B workers significantly increased production (elasticity of 0.20–0.22), meaning a 10% increase in H-2B workers led to a 2.0–2.2% increase in output. Investment rose (elasticity of 1.5–2.1), indicating firms expanded capacity (e.g., purchased equipment) when guaranteed labor.
Profitability increased (elasticity of 0.15), suggesting H-2B workers enhanced firm viability.
b. No Harm to U.S. Worker Employment
Access to H-2B workers resulted in zero or positive effects on U.S. worker employment (elasticity of +0.10, though statistically imprecise).
In rural areas, the effect on native employment was positive, likely because H-2B workers enabled firms to expand operations and create complementary jobs.
c. Low Substitutability
The foreign-native elasticity of substitution in H-2B occupations was very low (0.8–2.2), meaning U.S. workers were not easily interchangeable with foreign workers. This reflects the specific, seasonal, and low-skill nature of H-2B jobs, which U.S. workers often avoid.
Forensic analysis showed similarly low substitutability with black-market labor, suggesting firms denied visas did not simply hire illegal workers.
Conclusion:
The study found no evidence that H-2B workers displaced U.S. workers or reduced wages. Instead, H-2B workers filled labor shortages, enabling firms to grow and, in some cases, hire more U.S. workers. Employers who won the H-2B lottery increased production and investment.
3. 2018 Edgeworth Economics Study on the Economic Impact of the H-2B Program in Pennsylvania
In April 2018, Edgeworth Economics surveyed 59 landscaping businesses in Pennsylvania that rely on the H-2B program for seasonal workers during peak seasons. The study found:
•Landscaping companies indicated that revenues would decline by an average of 36%, or about $658,000 per business per year, if seasonal H-2B workers could not be hired.
•This 36% decline would result in a total direct revenue loss of about $26.1 million to the businesses surveyed.
•Extrapolating from the survey, the statewide decline in revenue for landscaping companies in Pennsylvania would be approximately $178.4 million if all H-2B workers were eliminated.
•Employment would be expected to decrease by about 3,440 jobs in Pennsylvania under this scenario.
•Gross output (GDP) in Pennsylvania would be expected to decrease by $353.7 million per year without seasonal H-2B workers.
•Each seasonal landscaping job in Pennsylvania supports about 0.9 full-time jobs in other industries.
•Each H-2B landscaping job also supports approximately 2.3 other jobs within the landscaping companies themselves.
Conclusion:
Studies show a strong correlation between an increase in H-2B visa issuances and U.S. worker employment, increase in production and increase in investment by H-2B program participants.
