There are a lot of people out there who like to exploit people’s fears. We see it play out daily in the ads for political candidates during this election cycle. One of the more notorious examples is the unjustified claim that immigrants will steal our jobs.
This fear is nothing new. It’s been around for centuries. My own Irish ancestors faced discrimination when they landed on American shores, with many businesses at the time posting signs stating “No Irish need apply.” As humans, we fear the unknown. We are drawn to the familiar and comfortable, and are wary of anything different.
However, with unemployment rates still below 4%, it is time for us to encourage the admittance of people looking to pursue the same American dream our ancestors sought.
Limitations on immigration, both from past administrations and from reductions caused by pandemic restrictions, have limited the pool of workers who have traditionally accepted entry-level jobs that others don’t want. A lack of available and willing workers has been a contributing factor to the delays and shortages that have plagued our supply chains, and that won’t really improve much with the current available workforce. We are nearly at the same levels of overall employment as we were before the pandemic, with about a 62% labor force participation rate. There just are not enough people available to fill the 11 million-plus job openings.
Warehouses cannot find the workers they need. And a shortage of truck drivers persists, a situation that may worsen as the average age of drivers, which is currently about 49, continues to rise. Our industry needs about 80,000 more drivers to fill the available jobs.
Efforts have been made to encourage recent high school graduates and workers in other fields to consider jobs in the supply chain, but they fall short. Higher wages have helped, but they result in added costs and make inflation even worse. Sadly, not a lot of young people grow up aspiring to be truck drivers.
However, these are jobs that people from other nations seek. They’re looking for opportunities to establish themselves in America. I know a number of immigrants (my brother-in-law is one of them). None of these people are murderers or thieves, as the fear-mongers would have you believe. They work hard, create jobs, pay taxes, and invest in their communities. They live the American dream.
Let’s be more welcoming and at the same time fill the ranks of workers needed to keep our supply chains moving.
