FY2024 Prevailing Wage Trends and Insights Across U.S. Visa Programs
Summary:The recently published FY2024 Prevailing Wage database underscores its critical role in foreign labor certification, with the PERM program accounting for 91.7% of 229,454 determinations. High-demand roles included software developers and medical scientists, with top employers like Microsoft and Baylor College of Medicine driving requests. The program remains essential for meeting workforce needs while protecting U.S. labor standards.We have complied and published all the prevailing wage determination requests submitted by U.S. employers in fiscal year 2024 on our new prevailing wage database portal.
The Prevailing Wage program, managed by the U.S. Department of Labor, ensures that wages offered to foreign workers align with those paid to similarly employed U.S. workers in a given occupation and location. It serves as a cornerstone in several visa programs, including PERM, H-1B, H-2B, and CW-1, safeguarding domestic labor standards while addressing employer needs for skilled foreign labor. In FY2024, significant trends and insights emerged from prevailing wage determinations and requests across these programs.
In FY2024, the Department of Labor received a total of 229,454 prevailing wage requests, with the largest share attributed to the PERM program at 187,315 requests, reflecting a 14.8% decline from FY2023. Other programs, such as H-2B and CW-1, also experienced reductions, with CW-1 requests seeing the largest decline of 24.0%. Despite these declines, the PERM program dominated in determinations issued, accounting for 91.7% of all wage determinations, highlighting its pivotal role in foreign labor certification.
The PERM program's prevailing wage data revealed that software developers continued to lead as the top occupation, representing 24.0% of all certified positions. Registered nurses, computer systems analysts, and data scientists were other high-demand roles. Employers such as Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Intel were the top contributors to prevailing wage requests under PERM, illustrating the tech industry's reliance on this program to meet labor demands.
For H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 programs, prevailing wage requests were concentrated in academia and healthcare. Top occupations included medical scientists and biological scientists, with employers like Baylor College of Medicine and Indiana University leading submissions. This underscores the programs' focus on specialized roles in research, education, and healthcare.
The H-2B program, primarily aimed at temporary non-agricultural workers, saw high demand for occupations like landscaping workers, maids, and restaurant cooks. Employers such as Holiday Inn Club Vacations and ABC Professional Tree Services filed significant requests, emphasizing the seasonal nature of these roles. Similarly, the CW-1 program, specific to the Northern Mariana Islands, highlighted occupations such as maintenance workers and bookkeepers, catering to the local economy's unique needs.
As of September 30, 2024, 93,300 prevailing wage determinations remained pending, reflecting the volume and complexity of the process. The data underscores the essential role of the prevailing wage program in balancing the demand for foreign labor while protecting U.S. workers, with technology, healthcare, and seasonal industries remaining key beneficiaries of the system.
