A ruling from a U.S. district court judge in New Jersey has blocked an attempt by H-1B visa opponents to stop an extension of student visas from one year to 29 months. The measure, which was put in place earlier this year, was a move that the Bush administration claimed would give students a better chance to get an H-1B visa. The 85,000-visa cap, which includes 20,000 visas for foreign workers with advanced degrees, is being reached before the close of the academic year, making it difficult for new graduates to get a new visa before their old visa expires.

The Programmers Guild, the Immigration Reform Law Institute and other groups sought an injunction to stop the visa extension, arguing that such a measurer is, in effect, a backdoor visa increase that will hurt U.S. workers.

As foreign-born workers make up a larger share of the U.S. workforce, more employers will be dealing with language limitations. But a new survey by The Conference Board finds that a majority of employers are doing very little to overcome this challenge.

"The future for many U.S. based companies appears flush with potential employees lacking English language skills," says Chris Woock, author of the report. "Whether and how companies choose to accommodate these workers could have significant impacts on the sustainability of success. Latest evidence suggests companies could do well to recruit and hire the best available talent, irrespective of their language limitations, and invest in language training."

Although the economy continued its trend of job loss in April 2008, the actual number of jobs lost was far less than economists had predicted. The economy showed some signs of revival in April, as only 20,000 jobs were lost, much less than the 73,000 jobs that economists had forecast would disappear.

The unemployment rate also surprised economists, as it dropped 0.1 percent to 5.2 percent, easing fears that the uncertain labor markets would push the rate up to 5.2 percent. Average hourly earnings rose a paltry 1 cent, and strong employment gains in the health and education services sector offset predicted losses in industries like manufacturing and construction, both hit hard by the sluggish real estate market.