Average certified wages for H-2B jobs are lower than U.S. wage standards: National average certified H-2B wage by occupation, average OEWS wage, and dollar amount and percent below OEWS wage, top-15 H-2B occupations by number of jobs certified
| H-2B Rank | SOC Code | Occupation | H-2B jobs certified | H-2B average hourly wage | OEWS national average hourly wage | Amount below national average hourly wage | Percent below national average hourly wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37-3011 | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 90,109 | $17.55 | $19.66 | $2.11 | 10.7% |
| 2 | 37-2012
|
Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 19,138 | $15.81 | $17.39 | $1.58 | 9.1% |
| 3 | 45-4011 | Forest and conservation workers | 14,934 | $15.51 | $20.59 | $5.08 | 24.7% |
| 4 | 39-3091 | Amusement and recreation attendants | 12,398 | $12.48 | $15.07 | $2.59 | 17.2% |
| 5 | 35-2014 | Cooks, restaurant | 11,515 | $17.74 | $18.14 | $0.40 | 2.2% |
| 6 | 47-2061 | Construction laborers | 9,210 | $20.85 | $24.64 | $3.79 | 15.4% |
| 7 | 51-3022 | Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers | 9,116 | $14.45 | $18.58 | $4.13 | 22.2% |
| 8 | 35-3031 | Waiters and waitresses | 7,294 | $17.52 | $18.44 | $0.92 | 5.0% |
| 9 | 35-3023 | Fast food and counter workers | 6,693 | $12.68 | $15.07 | $2.39 | 15.8% |
| 10 | 37-2011 | Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 4,621 | $16.94 | $18.01 | $1.07 | 6.0% |
| 11 | 39-2021 | Animal caretakers | 3,298 | $15.72 | $16.71 | $0.99 | 5.9% |
| 12 | 53-7062 | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 3,002 | $18.02 | $19.91 | $1.89 | 9.5% |
| 13 | 49-9098 | Helpers–installation, maintenance, and repair workers | 2,710 | $17.58 | $19.59 | $2.01 | 10.3% |
| 14 | 47-2051 | Cement masons and concrete finishers | 2,484 | $23.66 | $28.54 | $4.88 | 17.1% |
| 15 | 53-7064 | Packers and packagers, hand | 2,410 | $14.85 | $17.59 | $2.74 | 15.6% |
| Total jobs certified in top-15 H-2B occupations | 198,932 | ||||||
| Total H-2B jobs certified in all occupations | 243,798 | ||||||
| Top-15 share of all H-2B jobs certified | 82% | ||||||
Note: SOC stands for Standard Occupational Classification, which is a system of job classification created by the U.S. Department of Labor, see https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm. The H-2B average hourly wage is calculated by taking the weighted average hourly wage of all jobs certified by the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) for new H-2B workers for each of the corresponding occupations, for fiscal year 2024. For the calculation, the lowest allowable wage employers were required to pay their H-2B employees was used, as reported in OFLC's data.
Source: EPI analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, and of H-2B disclosure data from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's Performance Data, U.S. Department of Labor, for fiscal year 2024.
This chart appears in:
- Wages are still too low in H-2B occupations: Updated wage rules could ensure labor standards are protected and migrants are paid fairly
- Testimony prepared for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections for a hearing on “Second-class workers – Assessing H-2 visa programs’ impact on workers”
- Costa Senate Testimony just for charts
- H-2B report 2025
- The H-2B visa program has ballooned without being fixed. Expanding it to year-round jobs like meatpacking would lower wages and revenue: A high-road employment strategy that includes green cards would raise wages and spur investment instead
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