Not everyone shares his optimism - especially not lower-skilled workers, many of them single mothers, who take home as little as $60 a week.

Companies that employ lower-skilled workers also objected to changes made on the Senate floor.

The bill, as drafted by senators and the Bush administration, would have allowed American companies to bring in 400,000 lower-skilled workers on two-year visas.

These firms employ highly skilled researchers with PhDs down to lower-skilled workers in drugs manufacturing plants.

Employers and the government say the new arrivals have benefited the British economy, mostly by filling the need for lower-skilled workers.

Employers of lower-skilled workers voiced another concern.

He focuses his attention on lower-skilled workers, who have seen their incomes stagnate.

The higher wages would attract more lower-skilled American workers (including teenagers) to these jobs.

"Not only do some jobs disappear, but some of the lower-skilled workers are replaced."

Another factor has been the transformation from a manufacturing economy into one based on high technology, leaving limited employment options for lower-skilled workers, particularly males.