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With LexingtonFayette Countys unemployment rate hovering between 3 percent and 4 perecent over the past yeareven hitting 2.9 percent in October, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsthe local economy is officially in a state of full employment, as economists call it.

While this is good news for job seekers, many employers in some of Central Kentuckys key economic sectorsnamely agriculture, construction and hospitalitysay theyre finding it increasingly difficult to fill open positions and retain qualified workers. As lawmakers debate Americas immigration policy, some employers are finding that bringing in temporary noncitizen workers to fill the jobs that others wont, or cant, take may be the only solution to their labor woes.

A 2017 study by Fayette Alliance found that one of every 12 jobs in Fayette County is either directly or indirectly linked to agriculture, which generates $1.3 billion income, profits and dividends annually. The industry accounts for more than $2.3 billion in economic activity each year, and results in $8.5 million in tax revenue.

But finding people to fill those positions is also becoming more difficult, said Will Snell, co-director of the Kentucky Agricultural Leadership Program at the University of Kentuckys College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Farmers [primarily tobacco, equine and dairy farmers] in Kentucky have been challenged with higher labor costs and volatile labor supply, but through the H-2A program they have been able to secure enough labor." Will Snell

Farmers [primarily tobacco, equine and dairy farmers] in Kentucky have been challenged with higher labor costs and volatile labor supply, but through the H-2A program they have been able to secure enough labor," Snell said. However, like many businesses, it is becoming harder to find and keep labor.

H-2A visas allow noncitizen workers to come here legally to work in low-skill, temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs for which U.S. workers are not available. A typical length of stay is 10 months or less, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

According to the Kentucky Workforce and Employment Cabinet, Kentucky will process more than 550 H-2A contracts for more than 760 farmers, resulting in jobs for an estimated 3,500 guest workers.

Farmers are absolutely having a terrible time finding people to work for them, said Rick Alexander, executive director with the Agriculture Workforce Management Association. If youre going to have any kind of labor at all, youre going to have to rely on H-2A visas.

The problem stems from the historically low unemployment rate, he said. Lower unemployment means fewer Americans are willing to take farm jobs. Additionally, many undocumented workers arent willing to take farm jobs, he said.

I dont think its a change in the administration or in policies, Alexander said. Its the economy. There are fewer and fewer undocumented workers to do the work in the ag industry. In a better economy, like weve had lately, those workers get jobs in the construction industry or somewhere else where the work isnt so hard. Farm work isnt easy work.

Hiring foreign workers isnt inexpensive, though. Alexander said farms that come to him to hire workers have to first advertise their jobs and ensure there are no American workers who are willing and able to take them.

Farmers who hire foreign nationals through H-2A visas are also required to pay prevailing wages to the workers, provide them with transportation to and from their country of origin to America, provide them with housing and transportation to run errands like grocery shopping or going to the bank once a week, and to provide them with the utensils needed to cook their own food or provide food for them.

Housing is often provided on farms, he said, and in some cases foreign workers come back year after year.

In this area, some employers bring those workers back for 15 or 20 years, he said. They have to go back each year, but in many cases they end up being part of the family.

Despite some extra costs, the program isnt pricier than hiring an American employee, Alexander said. Farmers dont have to pay taxes on the wages they pay H-2A visa holders, but they do have to carry workers compensation insurance for those same workerssomething they dont have to do with Americans who choose to go into farm work.

And those who carry H-2A visas are required to file annual income tax statements and pay taxes on those wages, he said.

Bob Weiss, executive vice president for the Home Builders Association of Kentucky, said his industry, like many others, is also suffering from a workforce shortage.

What weve found is that the recession of 2008 was so severe that many workers left our industry, he said. They found jobs elsewhere and never came back.

Weve talked to our lawmakers about the troubles were facing, Weiss said. In fact, wed love for Congress to have immigration reform that make sense so we could bring in extra workers.

Some employers in Kentucky say whats needed is common sense reform that would allow them to increase the number of workers in the area who might be willing to take jobs in their industries. According to the Central Kentucky Policy Group, federal policy changes like renewing the Returning Worker Exemption and raising the limit for the H-2B visa program are both priorities.

Many workers arrive through the H-2B visa program, which allows U.S. employers that meet specific regulatory requirements to bring in foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. H-2B classification may be extended for qualifying employment in increments of up to one year each, and a new, valid temporary labor certification covering the requested time must accompany each request. The maximum stay allowed under an H-2B classification is three years. The yearly national cap on additional visas for returning workers was raised by 30,000 for 2019, but that cap was reached long before the years end.

Pam Avery, the 2018 and 2019 president of the Bluegrass Hospitality Association, and general manager of Embassy Suites Lexington Green, said the labor crunch in the hospitality industry isnt one she believes will let up soon, either.

The job environment in hospitality has been pretty tight for the past 24 months, and I think it will continue for some time to come, she said of many open positions that are difficult to fill. Engineers, housekeepers, wait staff I dont think were going to see this [tight labor market] let up anytime soon. Thats the world in which we live right nowits not an industry where the jobs are valued as much as they used to be.

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