HireCentrix News - News Articles

Workers on H-1B visas are 10 years younger, earn 10% more than U.S. workers

Computerworld - H-1B workers are better educated than U.S. born workers and earn more, according to a new study by an independent research group.

The report by two economists at the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California, also found that, on average, H-1B workers are about 10 years younger than U.S. born workers.

The report's findings concerning pay indirectly challenge beliefs about the H-1B program held by backers like Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

In a recent column in the Financial Times, Greenspan argued that restrictions on the H-1B program protect "many high earners from skilled migrant competitors." He called the H-1B program "a subsidy for the wealthy," meaning well-paid IT workers.

Greenspan has previously called for raising the visa cap.

But according to this study, Greenspan conclusion U.S. IT workers are a "privileged elite is wrong." It found that the average annual earnings of H-1B workers are about 10% higher than the average annual earnings of U.S. workers, after adjustments for age, occupation and education.

The study is drawing reaction from those who see current H-1B policies as a detriment to U.S. workers.

The research may also underscore arguments made by H1-B opponents despite their criticism of the findings, particularly in regard to age. The study found that average age of H-1B workers are 30.6-years-old versus 40.6 for U.S. born IT workers.

In his newsletter, Norman Matloff, a professor of computer science at the University of California at Davis and a longtime critic of the H-1B program, wrote a detailed response in two parts (Part One and two).

##

Comments: