With Labor Day now behind us, likely many of us have enjoyed some summer fun with our families. Whether a lazy summer day on one of our Jersey Shore beaches, or a day riding the coasters at one of our Pennsylvania amusement parks, summer affords us this time to shut it down and soak up the sun. But, while you’re walking the boards looking for ice cream, have you ever stopped to notice who are those folks working the rides, serving the ice cream or manning the gaming booths? Same goes for the ticket takers at the theme parks. And who hasn’t used their mobile phone or laptop to order those staples for the shore house that you just don’t want to leave the beach to go shop for. Take a closer look and also ponder who might have designed that great app you are using to order those school supplies while the kids are splashing in the pool. Now that you think about it, walking the boardwalks at night can often be analogous to walking down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan during the holidays, English is among the languages you will hear.
The Jersey Shore and Pennsylvania amusement and entertainment industries are great examples of industries that are reliant upon a foreign work force to thrive. Whether through the use of foreign student workers coming to the United States to get a taste of our culture, or the seasonal worker visa program, these industries utilize an immigrant workforce to staff their businesses. And what about that app that you are using on your now sandy cellphone to order from. Ever stop to wonder where that is being developed. You might be surprised to know that a few of our country’s largest American brand retailers are reliant upon a largely foreign national specialized labor force, based here in the United States, to develop these mobile shopping technologies that we can no longer live without.
