Conference Board News Release (03/26/13)

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index slipped from 68 in February to 59.7 in March, which Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators, attributes to a significant decrease in expectations, likely a result of the economic uncertainty created by the sequester. The Expectations Index plummeted from 72.4 to 60.9, while the Present Situation Index fell from 61.4 to 57.9. When it comes to the job market, the percentage of consumers believing jobs are plentiful declined from 10.1% to 9.4%, at the same time that the percentage who think jobs are hard to get dropped from 36.9% to 36.2%. Consumers’ short-term outlook reveals a decrease in those expecting more jobs in the coming months from 16.1% to 12.3%, an increase in those expecting fewer jobs from 22.1% to 26.6%, a drop in those expecting income gains from 15.8% to 13.7%, and a decline in those expecting incomes to fall from 19.3% to 18.0%.

Washington Post Online (03/26/13) Suzy Khimm

A major issue in the current immigration reform talks involves the AFL-CIO union’s desire for temporary foreign workers to be paid significantly more than their native-born counterparts are, on average. Business wants to be able to pay foreign workers the same as native-born workers, with the federal minimum wage as a floor. Union officials, by contrast, have proposed a tiered system that would ask employers to pay anywhere between 20% and 70% more to hire foreign workers, which includes both wage increases and fees. “Bringing in workers below median by definition lowers median wages for everyone,” asserts Jeff Hauser, an AFL-CIO spokesman who argues that the higher wages will benefit both native- and foreign-born workers.

Policy analysts note that setting any kind of comparison between native-born workers and foreign workers is difficult, and even an effort to pay foreign workers the same as their native-born counterparts is difficult to achieve, as there is not a clear universal yardstick to use. Such questions haven’t even been completely resolved inside existing temporary worker programs. The U.S. Department of Labor, for instance, has finalized a rule prohibiting employers from paying lower wages because of less work experience under the H2-B visa program, concluding that it is difficult for employers to verify the length of work experience, making it easier for businesses to underpay foreign workers. However, Congress has held back funding for enforcing this new regulation, so businesses haven’t borne the brunt of complying with it.