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Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

(arxiv.org)
391 points JSeymourATL | 4 comments | 14 Nov 24 14:35 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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shmatt ◴[14 Nov 24 14:56 UTC] No.42136701[source]▶
I have to put out a ghost job req and interview every person applying within reason for every green card a direct report is applying for. I have to show there are or aren’t any residents or citizens that can fill the job

The main problem is: even if the interviewee knocks it out of the park, is an amazing engineer, I still am not interested in firing my OPT/h1b team member who can still legally work for 2-3 years. So while I will deny their green card application and not submit it, I also won’t hire the interviewee

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ndiddy ◴[14 Nov 24 15:04 UTC] No.42136810[source]▶
I'm glad our government has introduced the H1B program to help out employers like you who are dealing with a shortage of tech workers (who will work for 2/3 market and will do anything you say because if they get fired they'll be deported).
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cscurmudgeon ◴[14 Nov 24 16:59 UTC] No.42138211[source]▶
Is there any evidence H1B workers in tech have lowered wages?

I have only seen anecdotes while the law explicitly states H1Bs should be paid the prevailing wage or above.

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hollerith ◴[14 Nov 24 17:01 UTC] No.42138246[source]▶
It's what I would naturally expect to happen in the absence of consistent heroic efforts by the authorities to prevent it.
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1. cscurmudgeon ◴[14 Nov 24 17:25 UTC] No.42138606[source]▶
If that is happening widely, surely there will be some data to support that right?

Authorities do enforce H1B provisions proactively.

https://www.uscis.gov/scams-fraud-and-misconduct/report-frau...

https://cis.org/North/Apple-Hit-25-Million-Penalty-Favoring-...

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/11/06/h-1b-visa-fraud-leads...

> absence of consistent heroic efforts

Will that apply to every law in society or just to H1B laws?

Despite absence of consistent heroic efforts, we don't see widespread criminal activities.

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2. ◴[14 Nov 24 19:47 UTC] No.42140370[source]▶
3. hollerith ◴[14 Nov 24 20:32 UTC] No.42140874[source]▶
You seem to be genuinely curious, which is commendable.

>Will that apply to every law in society or just to H1B laws?

The H1B laws are harder to enforce than most laws -- or so it would seem to me -- because the question of whether there are Americans that are able to do a particular job at a particular workplace depends on many fiddly details that only the managers of the particular workplace (the prospective defendant in any enforcement action) would know.

When lawyers working on Capitol Hill are serious about stamping out a behavior, they write laws that are easy to enforce (unambiguous, not relying much on human judgment). Something as vague as, "as long as there are no Americans qualified to do the job," suggests that whoever wrote that just wants to reassure critics of the H1B program without caring much whether H1B workers actually displace American workers.

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4. cscurmudgeon ◴[14 Nov 24 23:45 UTC] No.42142531[source]▶
> The H1B laws are harder to enforce than most laws -- or so it would seem to me

Most laws are like this. Do you know criminality laws require intent and yet we do fine without mind reading devices.

Most H1Bs are in software and wages in software have been rising along with number of people in software engineering over the long term.