H1B Leaderboard

Elon’s recent tweets about needing more H-1B workers sparked debate, especially among those of us in tech. It feels disconnected from reality when so many skilled software engineers (including FAANG-caliber talent) are job-seeking, alongside new CS grads entering the workforce annually.

The H-1B program is intended to help employers fill roles that can't be met by U.S. workers, per the Department of Labor. Yet, there’s a disconnect: despite many capable American tech workers, companies continue to submit large numbers of H-1B applications.

I dug into the 2024 Labor Condition Application data (which reflects employer demand, not outcomes) and compared it with Layoffs.fyi data. My findings and methodology are on the site—I'm not a data scientist but tried to keep things transparent.

This is a nuanced issue, and I believe the H-1B program is vital. But I can’t help wondering if it's being misused to suppress wages and bargaining power in tech, one of the last fields where single-income families can thrive without requiring a college degree.

Feedback on my analysis or suggestions for additional data to pull are welcome!

One of main uses of H1B is to offshore jobs. Bring in people on the H1B, get them trained, then send them back 'home'. Disney and many other companies have done this. Just look at the leaderboard and see how many offshoring companies are there.

Instead of H1B, we should provide green cards to people who want to come here and start a new life. This would put workers on a better footing in employment than H1B.

The government we pay for should not be enabling the offshoring of jobs.

You can try to stop h1Bs, but it won't really do much good. There are talented workers in other countries that can do the same job for less money.

I also find it ironic that the same crowd that screamed about Trump being racist for his views on the border, is now complaining he is hiring non-white people.

Did you actually think hiring people from other counties would help American's job prospects? It now seems the left is against immigration and preventing climate change (because Musk likes Nuclear power and Electric cars). Will they finally turn the corner and become the Republican party?

Update: LOL