Plugging America's Labour Shortage
Puerto Ricans are recruited to fill the ranks of the service industry
Many Puerto Ricans are travelling to mainland America to fill the country's labour shortages, leaving behind an island mired in economic crisis. Workers give their viewpoints from the "Las Vegas of the Midwest".
"Uncertainty is never a great business plan. And that's what we found with the visa programs”, says Jeff Serifried of Branson, Missouri's chamber of commerce. He had 2,000 hospitality vacancies to fill following tighter immigration caps. An island-wide recruitment campaign wooed 400 Puerto Rican workers to work in hospitality in the town, leaving behind an island with 10% unemployment. "It worked out for us. 100%", says one worker.
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