11 July 2008

Australian economy up, global economy down

Despite the global credit crunch and threats of economic recessions, Australia’s Treasurer Wayne Swan announced he is optimistic about the future of the Australian economy. After an 18 month rise in the jobless rate, the month of May saw a massive turnaround and 29,800 workers were hired in the mining industry, reports Bloomberg.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday the jobless rate fell unexpectedly to 4.2 per cent last month, and the Treasurer is pleased with the outcome.  "Given the global credit crunch, given the global oil shock, these figures are very welcomed figures indeed," he told reporters in Sydney.

"These figures today reflect that the Australian economy is continuing to grow", he added. 

Sally Auld, co-head of economics at Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said, "This is a clear sign the economy still has life in it, buoyed by a resources boom.  If it wasn’t for mining, Australia’s economy could be in as bad shape as New Zealand and the UK."

The Northern Territory Government are now campaigning for workers to join the mining industry so that it can continue to meet increasing export demands, particularly from China.  The Government are currently advertising for engineers, project managers, project officers, and supervisors to support expansion projects in the region.

A large majority of workers will be sourced from the UK and other overseas locations.  Many of these workers will enter the country on an Australia visa under the General Skilled Migrant Program.  Under the program, overseas workers can get independent skilled migrant visas or can be sponsored by an employer or the government.  They are allowed to permanently live and work in Australia. 

The Government is also targeting young travellers to join the construction industry in regional Australia.  Recent changes to the working holiday visa now mean backpackers aged 18 to 30 years can apply for a second working holiday visa if they have worked in construction in rural Australia for three months or more. 

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Article by Jessica Bird, Australian Visa Bureau.

The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people emigrate to Australia.