Fed Officials Argue Higher Immigration Could Ease Labor Shortage

Immigration, which slowed during the pandemic, could help ease a shortage of workers in the U.S. that’s pushed job vacancies to an all-time high, according to policy makers at the Federal Reserve.

While it remains a hot-button political topic in the U.S. -- with some arguing that immigration comes at the expense of American jobs -- two regional Fed presidents are making the case this month that it all boils down to “math.”

Richmond Fed chief Thomas Barkin and Minneapolis’s Neel Kashkari said that allowing more workers to come from overseas would help to ease the pinch caused by an ...