Now that the United States is cracking down on immigration, some low-skill jobs may not be so easy to fill. So the state is debating lifting some child labour laws to involve minors.
Florida’s state’s legislature is debating a bill on Tuesday that would relax child labour rules and allow minors as young as 14 years old to work overnight on school days. According to the current rules, they are not allowed to work between 11pm and 6.30am.
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis supports the loosening of the law, along with President Donald Trump’s policy of deporting undocumented immigrants from the US.
“Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know, teenagers used to work at these resorts, college students should be able to do this stuff,” DeSantis said last week, according to CNN.
However, cracking down on immigration is exactly why the state may have a worsening labour shortage, which in turns carries inflationary risks if salaries rise.
The US Chamber of Commerce reported in December 2024 that America was facing a labour shortage crisis. It named Florida as one of the states where the situation is severe, counting only 53 available workers for every 100 open jobs.
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