STEM Shortage?

One of the underlying premises of the Gang of Eight immigration bill is that this bill's guest-worker programs would cure a supposed shortage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.  At the end of May, the Georgetown Public Policy Institute issued a report on the mixed employment prospects of new college graduates in the US.  This report's findings trouble the claim of a STEM shortage.

The report estimated that the unemployment rate of recent graduates with a a major in "computer and mathematics" fields was 9.1%.  For those in the engineering field, the unemployment rate was 7.4%.

Here are the unemployment rates for recent college graduates in some specific STEM majors according to this report:

• Information Systems 14.7%
• Computer Science 8.7%
• Mathematics 5.9%
• General Engineering 7%
• Civil Engineering 7.6%
• Electrical Engineering 7.6%
• Mechanical Engineering 8.1%

Clearly, the employment picture for many young Americans in STEM fields could be better.

Ramesh Ponnuru argued in Bloomberg yesterday that the GOP needs to address the economic concerns of young Americans.  A guest-worker plan that makes it harder for US citizens and legal immigrants to find employment could get in the way of that message.