How easy is it for New Migrants to Find Work in Australia?.
Australia gets a lot of new migrants arriving every year, and many are under the skilled migrants scheme, but we often hear about how difficult it is for some to get work.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported in 2010 that the following were the main problems in migrants finding work.
Main Reasons Migrants have for Difficulty in Finding Work.
64% reported a lack of Australian work experience or references;
33% experienced language difficulties;
23% reported a lack of local contacts or networks;
15% said there were no jobs in their locality, line of work or at all;
15% had difficulty with their skills or qualifications not being recognised;
8% said they did not know how or where to apply for jobs;
The top three reasons would be very common for most non English speaking nationalities.
Another Two reasons were given as:
7% had restrictions due to their visa type;
7% had difficulties with transport or had no driver’s licence
Visa Type is self explanatory: A Non-Permanent Visa holder will have difficulty in finding an employer for permanent work.
Transport is a problem for everyone: Most jobs are quite some distance from homes, and most families in Australia will have at least two cars.
The report did however go on to do a breakdown between different groups of people for comparison.
All Migrants Percentage In Employment.
All Migrants In Employment.
79% Migrants with Australian citizenship
71% Migrants on PR only
66% Temporary Visa Holders
55% Student Visa Holders
69% Born in Australia (this % figure is unclear from the charts but should be close)
Why would the Australian Born have a lower employment percentage ? Maybe because the figures include over 15’s in the totals, and most 15-20 are still in education. Maybe a number of Australian born prefer NOT to work, having more family support etc?
Male Migrants In Employment.
88% Male Migrants with Australian citizenship
88% Male Migrants on PR only
74% Male Temporary Visa Holders
75% Males Born in Australia
This actually shows that Male Migrants are more likely to be employed than Males born in Australia
Female Migrants In Employment.
70% Female Migrants with Australian citizenship
57% Female Migrants on PR only
70% Female Temporary Visa Holders
63% Females Born in Australia
This actually shows that Female Migrants, with Citizenship) are more likely to be employed than Females born in Australia, BUT, Female Migrants, without Citizenship) are LESS likely to be employed
Unemployment rate for Migrants.
5% for migrants born in main English-speaking countries
8% for migrants born in other countries
This clearly shows the importance of having local language skills.
Time for New Migrants to Find Work.
10% of recent migrants had their first job already arranged
43% spent three months or less looking for their first job
35% of recent migrants reported experiencing some difficulty finding their first job in Australia
These figures were bases on 2010 statistics, but should give an indication of trends and comparisons