November’s job numbers continued an upward trend for the U.S. economy — unemployment remained the same across most groups as wages rose at a rate not seen in more than a year and employers added 321,000 new jobs, mostly in professional and business services, retail, health care, manufacturing and transportation. But the jobs report wasn’t the only piece of good news for U.S. workers.

The National Council of La Raza reported last week that President Obama’s executive action to open application for temporary legal status and work permits to millions of undocumented immigrants could lead to higher wages and more benefits to workers across the U.S.. The Council based its report on the aftermath of the 1985 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which increased productivity and wages while decreasing tax burden amongst not only immigrant workers, but all U.S. workers.

“Productivity gains from administrative relief are expected to raise the wages of U.S.-born workers by $170 per year,” according to the report, which said that those previously undocumented who succeed in applying for relief may see an 8.5 percent wage increase. “A wage boost for immigrant families will undoubtedly increase their ability to patronize local businesses, spurring consumer demand, job creation and higher wages in the American economy.”

But amidst all that news is a perplexing phenomenon — the rapid rise in job creation has not coincided with a rise in new hires.

That’s a trend Neil Irwin noted in the New York Times Upshot on Wednesday. In October, job openings had increased well over 100 percent of 2009 numbers but the number of hires had increased by barely 40 percent. While the slowed hiring could be a sign that employers are not finding qualified workers, Irwin theorized that workers in the U.S. were no longer tied to recession-era jobs. Slowed hiring, he argued, may be a sign that workers are holding out for higher wages and better benefits for the first time in years.