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Immigration Cap, Job Rate, Causing Landscape Worker Shortage
By: Associated Press
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AKRON, Ohio (AP) – Ohio landscapers say low unemployment rates, a cap on seasonal immigrant workers and drug use is causing a shortage of workers.
Sandy Munley is executive director of the Ohio Landscape Association. She says that difficulty getting seasonal workers “is a huge, huge issue this year.”
Changes limiting the number of seasonal workers allowed into the country under the H-2B visa program have hurt landscaping companies.
The low unemployment rate also plays a role, as does the inability of many Ohio job applicants to pass a drug test, often because of marijuana use.
Joe Chiera owns Impact Landscape & Maintenance in Boston Heights in northeastern Ohio. He ended up hiring 15 people from Puerto Rico to fill his shortage.