Occupational licensing “hinders” U.S.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta took on the myriad occupational licenses that state and local governments require during a breakfast speech in Denver on Friday morning, arguing they may be keeping 2 million to 3 million people from jobs they want.
“Occupational licensing hinders the American workforce,” he told the crowd gathered before the American Legislative Exchange Council. “Almost one in three jobs requires an occupational license.”
Acosta acknowledged the necessity of proving competency for highly skilled positions and jobs that impact public health and safety. But he told the audience of conservative political leaders that more than 1,100 occupations face a licensing requirement in at least one U.S. state.
Such requirements often load up job seekers with unnecessary burdens in time and money. And many certifications, once earned, typically don’t transfer across state lines.
Acosta held up an application that Maryland requires for fortune tellers. The application requires three references who can attest to the good character of the applicant and a payment of a $393.75 fee.
Another example of licensing overreach he cited was in New York City, where any-
one who watches a pet for money must have a kennel license or risk a $1,000 fine for illegal pet sitting. Also, users of Rover, a popular Seattlebased application that matches up pet owners with paid pet watchers, are at risk because of the city’s rules.
Neighboring states can have much different requirements for the same job, with no marked difference in public benefit. Acosta pointed to Nevada, which requires 100 hours of training and licensing for opticians, who fit customers with glasses, based on prescriptions from optometrists and ophthalmologists. Next door in Utah, there are no licensing requirements.
“The question is: Is this burden re- ally justified?” he said.
A Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis study estimates that licensing requirements are keeping 2 million people out of jobs, a number equivalent to 1.3 percent of the labor force, Acosta said. He also cited another study from Brookings that puts lost employment opportunities at closer to 3 million.
Even when occupational regulation makes sense, state and local governments could do more to standardize and simplify requirements so licenses will work across multiple state lines without recertification, Acosta argued.
That would allow people to use technology to provide services remotely across state lines, as in telemedicine. It would also assist military and other families that have to move often for work.