As the Trump administration moves to end Temporary Protected Status for several immigrant groups and employers continue to warn about labor shortages, researchers at Manifest Law analyzed where businesses rely most heavily on the H-2A and H-2B seasonal worker programs—two legal pathways employers use to fill temporary jobs when domestic workers are unavailable.
The analysis ranks metropolitan areas by seasonal foreign labor requests relative to the size of their local workforce, offering a detailed look at where employers depend most heavily on H-2A and H-2B workers to meet recurring staffing needs. It also identifies which occupations generate the greatest demand and how reliance on agricultural and non-agricultural seasonal foreign labor differs across the country.
Key Takeaways, With Data for Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- H-2A and H-2B programs explained. The H-2A program allows agricultural employers to hire foreign workers for seasonal farm jobs when there are not enough available U.S. workers, while the H-2B program serves employers with temporary non-agricultural labor needs in industries such as landscaping, hospitality, seafood processing, construction, and recreation.
- Agriculture dominates H-2A demand. Nationally, employers requested more than 533,000 crop workers through the H-2A program, far more than any other occupation.
- Landscaping leads H-2B demand. Nationally, landscaping and groundskeeping workers accounted for nearly 79,400 requested H-2B positions—almost six times the next-largest occupation.
- The Charlotte metro’s national ranking. The Charlotte metro ranked #15 among large U.S. metropolitan areas, with 25 requested seasonal foreign workers per 10,000 resident employees.
- Balanced seasonal workforce. Roughly 50.2% of requested seasonal foreign workers in the Charlotte metro were requested through the H-2A agricultural program, compared with 49.8% through the H-2B non-agricultural program.
- Scale of overall demand. Charlotte metro employers requested a total of 3,510 seasonal foreign workers during the study period. 1,761 were through the H-2A agricultural program, while 1,749 were through the H-2B non-agricultural program.
The full report ranks every state and over 850 metropolitan areas, with breakdowns by workforce concentration, total requested workers, and occupation. We’ve also included high-resolution downloadable graphics at the bottom of this email.
You can read the full report here https://manifestlaw.com/blog/
