Fewer Australian visas for skilled migrants
May 11 2009 by Liam Clifford
Immigration Minister Chris Evans
Australia’s skilled worker visas are to be reduced again, according to a report in this weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald.
This will be the second time in two months that Australian immigration has slashed its skilled migration intake. Immigration Minister Chris Evans commented on the first reduction: “We don't want people coming in who are going to compete with Australians for limited jobs.”
The second reduction in the number of skilled migrants to be offered Australian visas will take the current quota of 115,000 down to 108,000. Since March there will have been a total reduction of 25,000 places, or 20% of the total skilled migrant programme.
Despite fears of the impact of the recession, figures show that Australia’s unemployment rate actually fell from 5.7% to 5.4% in April. Nevertheless, the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned that the economy is still fragile. "The process of deleveraging has still got some way to go; the outlook is uncertain," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"It is good that there is some kind of confidence emerging in some markets, it's good that there are signs of stimulus working in China. But, as we emerge from this, we will be emerging in a completely different environment than we had for the previous half-a-dozen years globally."
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