OFLC Updates Prevailing Wages for July 2026: Key Impact on EB-3 PERM Applicants

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) issued Technical Release Notes on June 29, 2026, announcing the implementation of updated Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data for the wage year spanning July 2026 through June 2027. This annual update establishes new prevailing wage levels across occupational categories nationwide. Prevailing wages determined by the OEWS data directly affect employers sponsoring foreign workers through the PERM labor certification process, a required step for most EB-3 employment-based green card petitions. When wage levels are updated, employers must ensure that the offered wage meets or exceeds the newly established prevailing wage for the relevant occupation and geographic area. For EB-3 applicants and their sponsoring employers, this update may require reassessing offered compensation for pending or upcoming PERM filings. Applications filed on or after the effective date must comply with the new wage determinations, which could impact labor condition applications (LCAs) and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests submitted to OFLC. Employers with active or planned PERM filings should review the technical release notes to identify any occupational wage changes in their relevant SOC codes and geographic regions. Cases in early stages of the PERM process may be most affected, as wage compliance is verified at the time of filing.