But times are always changing, and while it may seem hard to believe, things are looking up for legal workers in traditionally ''unskilled'' industries. While ''skilled'' blue-collar jobs, such as esoteric auto mechanic and high-tech factory worker positions, have long been safe, many of the entry-level ''unskilled'' worker positions have been hard to come by.
Recent changes in state laws have had a major impact, however. While the federal government has yet to meaningfully address the problems of a large illegal workforce, several US states have done so. Arizona, Utah, and others have toughened enforcement or instructed their enforcement officers to refer people to the US immigration service controls. Those states have also done other things to increase enforcement of the immigration laws.
While in actuality not many people have been prosecuted under these new state laws or practices, the changes have still been profound. Reports state that many thousands of people who were in those states illegally have moved to states that do not as yet enforce immigration laws as vigorously.
This has opened up the doors for significant opportunities for legal blue-collar job seekers. The demand for the so-called ''unskilled'' professions has not gone down much. The supply of workers willing and able to fill those jobs, which have primarily been illegal immigrants in recent years, has gone down. That has created a classic ''supply-and-demand'' issue. Even though the economy may be slowing, there are still plenty of plumbing, carpentry, and other jobs that need to be filled — especially in states that illegal immigrants are leaving for fear of prosecution.
I’ve seen this in my own area, as many businesses have started on hiring sprees and seem to be unable to find workers for such positions. Since I live in one of those states that have recently increased their immigration enforcement, I attribute this demand for jobs to, in part, a response to this new enforcement.
The other good news is that, as is usual in a supply-and-demand case, if there are not enough legal workers, the wages paid to those who are legal will increase as long as the employers do not fill their open positions with illegal immigrants. In some states local employers may not be able to fill those positions with local people at all without significantly raising the salaries they offer.
The downside is the flow of illegal immigrants into states bordering those that have tougher enforcement, such as California. In those states the greater supply of illegal labor will likely drive out legal employers — at least until those states start or the federal government starts to enforce stricter immigration laws.
So if you are in the market for a new blue-collar job, and you (1) are legal to work and (2) can move, I would suggest looking in those states that have recently strengthened their immigration enforcement. There’s likely to be a fair number of jobs open. At BlueCollarCrossing there are lots of open jobs right now — go search for them!
