Tech job openings are high, but Congress isn’t taking action.

New data on job openings in the United States shows that there is a continued shortage of workers to fill technology-related jobs, contributing to inflation and the production of fewer goods and services in the economy. The new information comes after Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) blocked efforts to provide more employment-based green cards to highly skilled foreign nationals.

According to an analysis of Lightcast Job Posting Analytics (formerly MC) data by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the number of open positions in computer jobs in the US exceeds 804,000.

The data shows more than 326,000 job openings in the US for software developers (and software quality assurance analysts), 64,712 computer systems analysts, 57,307 database administrators, 44,073 information security analysts, 40,492 electrical engineers, and nearly 300 job openings. For a variety of other computer occupations (as of September 22, 2022), the numbers (specific job postings) may underestimate vacancies as employers may not post every vacancy or leave listings for positions that have been open for a long time.

The unemployment rate in computer and accounting occupations was at a low of 2.3 percent in August 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This follows an average unemployment rate of 2.4% in computer and accounting occupations in 2021. The unemployment rate for architecture and engineering occupations in August 2022 was 1.9%.

American professionals in the computer field earn more than all Americans except professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, and a few other professions. Data on Native American workers analyzed by Madeleine Zavodini, an economics professor at the University of North Florida, shows that the average earnings of IT (information technology) professionals were 40 percent higher than the average earnings of other professionals between 2002 and 2020. Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The policy question is simple: Would the U.S. benefit from more policies that welcome highly skilled foreign-born workers to work in computer and information science, engineering, and other technical fields? Analysts have found that people who lack economics or who hate people born in other countries answer “no.”

Mark Reges, a labor economist and senior fellow at NFAP, says there’s overwhelming evidence of strong employer demand for people with technical skills, but ultimately it’s fruitless to argue whether there’s a shortage of computer specialists, scientists and surpluses. Engineers. “Markets tend to refine, and it is in all our interests to have highly talented individuals who contribute to high research and development and business innovation.”

Regust argues that admitting more highly skilled professionals (and workers of all skill levels) will benefit the United States in many ways. “We’re still reinventing how we do things in this post-Vivid economy, and that’s going to require technical skills to reinvent,” he said in an interview. But in addition, the reduction in immigration has been a major supply shock to the economy. Inflation occurs when the demand for goods and services exceeds the supply. Increasing our production capacity is the least painful way to control inflation. Increasing the supply of labor increases output, but immigrants also fit our needs in ways that add flexibility to the economy.

In the absence of an employment-based immigrant visa, an H-1B petition is the only viable option for a highly skilled foreign national to work in the United States long-term. Congress has not increased the annual cap on the number of H-1B visas since 2004. As a result, the supply of H-1B visas has been depleted for the past 20 consecutive fiscal years.

In April 2022, in effect, 85,000 new H-1B visas were issued to employers—about 0.05% of the US labor force—USCIS rejected 400,000 (80%) of the new H-applicants. 1b petitions. Since approximately 56,000 new H-1B petitions are filed in computer occupations each year, this means 14 times as many job postings in computer occupations (804,344) as new H-1B petitions by companies in computer occupations in a given year (even adopting the zero-sum approach).

Although economists recognize the great benefit of immigrants with technical skills to the United States, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has suspended the key immigration measure in the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act of 2022, which became law on August 9. , 2022. Grassley suspends annual green card limits and exemptions for foreign nationals with Ph.D. in STEM fields and with a master’s degree in a “critical industry.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave Grassley, the Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a de facto veto of any immigration measures in the bill. During a House-Senate conference committee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) The Senate is concerned To adopt the House’s measures, which include a start-up visa for immigrant entrepreneurs. The Biden administration, businesses and universities had hoped the exemption would become law, at least for individuals with PhDs in STEM fields.

Economists note that members of Congress cannot override the law of supply and demand, which means employers will continue to struggle to hire enough scientists and engineers to innovate and grow in the United States.