24 October 2007

Calls for one million extra people in the Australian workforce

The skills shortage in Australia's economy is being labelled the "success disease" and the Business Council of Australia has called on the new government to bring at least one million extra people into the workforce to lift productivity. Australia's economic boom is fuelling demand for skilled Australian immigration.

The council released a report this week arguing that the government must remove financial, tax, infrastructure, child-care and age impediments to work, the Age newspaper reports. The tight Australian labour market has led to booming Australian immigration.

BT Financial Group chief economist Chris Caton said: "Skills shortages are of course a success disease - you only get it when the economy has done well." Macquarie Bank economist Rory Robertson talked about "the ongoing strength of domestic demand, combined with the ongoing tightness of the labour market". Australian National University economist and labour market expert Bob Gregory agreed that skilled labour is now very hard to find.

Australia needs skilled workers: Anyone applying for an Australian visa should begin by completing the Australian Visa Bureau's online Australian visa application to see if they meet the Australian visa requirements.