Australia to Cut Skilled Visa Intake to Protect Jobs

Australia will reduce the number of visas issued to skilled migrants for the first time in 10 years to protect jobs in an economy teetering on recession.

The skilled visa intake will be cut by 18,500, or 14 percent, to 115,000 this year from 133,500 forecast in December as the global financial crisis puts pressure on the labor market, Immigration Minister Chris Evans said in an e-mailed statement.

“We don’t want people coming in who are going to compete with Australians for limited jobs,” Evans said in the statement today. The government will also remove builders, plumbers, carpenters and steel welders from the critical skills list.

Australia’s economy unexpectedly shrank 0.5 percent last quarter from the previous three months, the first decline since 2000. The jobless rate in February rose to 5.2 percent from 4.8 percent as companies fired full-time workers and the government forecasts the unemployment rate will reach 7 percent in the year ending June 30, 2010.

Pacific Brands Ltd., Australia’s biggest underwear maker, and raw material producers including BHP Billiton Ltd. are among companies firing workers as consumers cut spending and the global financial crisis deepens.

“Australia still needs to maintain a skilled migration program but one that is more targeted so that migrant workers are meeting skills shortages and not competing with locals for jobs,” Evans said.

Government Spending

To curb job losses, the government will spend A$42 billion ($28 billion) on cash handouts to households and on infrastructure. The central bank last month cut its benchmark lending rate to a 45-year low of 3.25 percent.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s package announced Feb. 3 aims to create 90,000 jobs in the next 18 months while a A$10.4 billion stimulus announced in October would create 70,000 jobs, according to the government’s Web site.

“The global financial crisis means the outlook for employment has changed dramatically,” Employment Minister Julia Gillard told parliament in Canberra. “Our visa scheme should meet skills shortages and not compete with locals for jobs.”
Source :Bloomberg