The finding could heighten the debate over whether more foreigners should be admitted to fill skilled jobs. Employers and high-tech industry groups have made the two reports a key element in their campaign to convince Congress that growth at software and computer firms will stall unless they can hire more foreigners for US vacancies.
Opponents say the employers want to flood the job market with workers to hold down wages.
The debate has large implications for Massachusetts, where many high-tech companies report more openings than they can fill locally. Senator Edward M. Kennedy has proposed a three-year increase in the number of foreigners admitted on temporary visas to fill the jobs, while another proposal would raise the number permanently. The GAO said the second report, by the Information Technology Association of America, a trade group, reached its conclusion of a worker shortage on the basis of two employer surveys with ''unacceptably low'' response rates of 14 percent and 36 percent. The statistic frequently has been used in the debate over the state of the high-tech job market. The GAO gave its report Friday to the House Commerce Committee and is expected to release it to the public today.