In last week’s issue, we advised that the Employment Visa bill was being prepared for passage in the US House of Representatives. Well, as they say, a funny thing happened on the way to approval. Actually, it just got bumped out for at least another week by Congress focusing their work on finalizing the Respect…
Read More »The so-called EAGLE Act (Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act), a bi-partisan proposal that would ease green card access for legal immigrants seeking higher-skilled employment, was being readied for a vote this week in the US House of Representatives. The legislation (HR 3648). sponsored by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and John Curtis…
Read More »The unemployment rate increased slightly in August, despite the economy adding another 315,000 jobs during the month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate in August was at 3.7 percent, up from the 3.5 percent recorded one month earlier. Despite the labor shortage, an additional 344,000 were added to the unemployment…
Read More »The curse of inflation continues to haunt the US economy with the Consumer Price Index showing no change month to month, but up 8.5% in July over July 2021. Overall prices were flat through July, with falling gasoline prices skewing the picture. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, climbed 5.9% annually and…
Read More »At the Coalition of Franchisee Association (CFA) Day Forum in Washington DC last month, franchisee attendees focused on several initiatives with great potential to ease the ongoing critical labor shortage for small businesses. One such solution the attendees spoke about with members of Congress is the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act. This proposal (HR…
Read More »That is the title of our next webinar in our DDIFO Wednesday Webinar series, and it’s coming next week on June 8 beginning at 1:00 PM. You can register now for this fun and creative presentation featuring Brand Managers Scott Barker and Scott Lambert of Business Member Paycor. During the Dunkin’ Employee Experience, we’ll take…
Read More »Although certainly not a silver bullet, legislation was filed late last month to help franchisees address the current labor shortage. The Essential Worker for Economic Advancement Act (EWEA) was filed by Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11) on March 28. EWEA would create a three-year H-2C visa program for nonimmigrant service workers who would fill nonagricultural jobs…
Read More »As inflation continues to reach highs it hasn’t hit in over 40 years – the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is at 8.5% annualized – the outlook for ending the labor shortage anytime soon doesn’t look any better. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% at the end of March, while net restaurant employment rose by 61,000…
Read More »As the labor shortage continues unabated, notwithstanding record low unemployment rates, efforts are underway to increase the limit on H-2B Visas. Along with others, the Travel Industry is urging the Biden administration to raise the cap following news early this month that the limit for the second half of the current fiscal year (FY22) had…
Read More »
While the labor shortage has impacted businesses across the board, franchisees know firsthand how the hospitality space is getting hit especially hard. Many workers in hospitality, who lost their jobs during the pandemic, don’t intend to return to work in the industry, according to research from the career site Joblist that examined the second quarter…
Read More »