DOL PERM DENIAL OR WITHDRAWN RATE CLIMBS TO 33.6%

DOL just released statistics on its PERM processing cases. As of March 2012, the rate of denied and withdrawn PERM cases was 33.6% of all cases adjudicated in March. For the current fiscal year (FY-2012) from 10/1/11-3/26/12, the rate of denied and withdrawn cases was 25%. The statistics are alarming, and this is a significant jump (of over 20%) in the denial rate of labor certifications. This is a significant change and a higher rate of denials than in the past. From FY-2008 to FY-2010, DOL approved 81.67% of labor certification applications filed according to its statistics. While the job outlook situation in the nation is still not bright, it did improve significantly from the recession and DOL will most likely be light years late to catch the trend.