Compelling news from the refugee and migrant sector
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Migrants, jobs and income – the latest numbers

20 June 20170 comments

Migrants, and especially those with Australian citizenship, are more likely to be employed that Australian-born people, new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data has found.

The ABS’ ‘Characteristics of Recent Migrants Survey’ provides detailed data about migrants who have come to Australia over the past ten years and how they have fared after their arrival.

Migrants with Australian citizenship had an unemployment rate of just 3.3 per cent compared with a national average of around 5.5 percent, the report found.

But women migrants fared much worse in the job market that males, the report said.

It said the labour force participation rate for recent migrants and temporary residents was 70 per cent in November 2016, while the total participation rate for Australia was 66 percent.

Shad Tobgy

Overall, men had a higher labour force participation rate than women: 90 per cent for male migrants with Australian citizenship compared with 71 per cent for females; 86 per cent for males on a permanent visa compared with 58 per cent for females; and 74 per cent for males on a temporary visa compared with 54 per cent for females.

In comparison, for males and females born in Australia, the participation rates were 75 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

In November 2016, 65% of the 1.7 million recent migrants and temporary residents were employed.

Migrants who had obtained Australian citizenship since arrival were more likely to be employed (77 per cent) than migrants on a permanent visa (63 per cent), or temporary residents (59 per cent).

Of those employed, 79 per cent of people with Australian citizenship were employed full time, compared with 74 per cent on a permanent visa and 61 per cent of temporary residents.

Three quarters of ‘skilled’ migrants were employed as at November 2016. Of the skilled migrants who were the main visa applicant, 82 per cent were employed.

About half (54 per cent) of migrants on a ‘family’ visa and 59 per cent of those on other permanent visas were employed.

Temporary residents on student visas were less likely to be employed than other temporary residents (50 per cent compared with 68 per cent), the data showed.

Overall, men were more likely to be employed full time than women: 87 per cent of employed male migrants with Australian citizenship were employed full time compared with 68 per cent of females.

Among employed permanent visa holders, 82 per cent of males were employed full time compared with 66 per cent of females; and 67 per cent of employed male temporary residents were employed full time compared with 55 per cent of female temporary residents.

The data gives interesting insights into unemployment rates among different groups within Australia

The unemployment rate for recent migrants and temporary residents was 7.4 per cent, compared with 5.4 per cent for people born in Australia, but this figure includes refugees who have come to Australia for humanitarian reasons.

Migrants with Australian citizenship had an unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent, temporary residents 8.6 per cent and recent migrants on a permanent visa 8.8 per cent.

The labour force participation rate was higher for those recent migrants who arrived in Australia already having obtained a non-school qualification (83 per cent) than for those who had not (58 per cent).

It was also higher for recent migrants who obtained a non-school qualification since arrival (84 per cent) than for those who had not (68 per cent).

The ABS data showed around 9.1 per cent of recent migrants who have had a job in Australia arrived with their first job arranged, whereas 46 per cent spent up to three months looking for their first job.

An estimated 43 per cent of recent migrants who have had a job since arrival received some form of help to find their first job.

Survey respondents cites the most common sources of help were as: family or friends (74 per cent); Centrelink, a Job Network agency or Job Services Australia provider; and, educational institution (4.2 per cent).

More than a third (31 per cent) of recent migrants who have had a job in Australia reported experiencing some difficulty finding their first job.

Respondents cited the most common difficulties as: a lack of Australian work experience or references (65 per cent); lack of local contacts or networks (31 per cent); and, language difficulties (31 per cent).

The report said the education levels of recent migrants and temporary residents could impact on their settlement outcomes during their first ten years in Australia.

Respondents were asked about qualifications they had obtained prior to arriving in Australia and if they were recognised in Australia, whether their qualifications were used in their first job and whether they had obtained any qualifications since arrival.

About 65 per cent of recent migrants held a non-school qualification before arriving in Australia. Of these, 76 per cent had a Bachelor Degree or higher, 14 per cent had an Advanced Diploma or Diploma and 8.7 per cent had a Certificate level qualification.

More than a third (36 per cent) of recent migrants had obtained a non-school qualification after arriving in Australia. Of these, half had obtained a Bachelor Degree or higher.

Of the recent migrants who had a non-school qualification before arriving in Australia and who had a job since arriving in Australia, 53 per cent had used their highest non-school qualification in their first job.

Another 18 per cent of these had not used their highest non-school qualification in their first job, but had tried to find work more suited to their qualification.

A third of recent migrants who had obtained a non-school qualification before arrival had their overseas qualifications recognised in Australia.

Skilled visa holders and temporary residents were also included in the survey.

Almost four fifths (79 per cent) of skilled visa holders who were main applicants had a non-school qualification before arrival and 55 per cent of these were currently employed in a job using their qualification.

Of those who had not used their qualification, 26 per cent had tried to find work more suited to their qualifications.

About 55 per cent of temporary residents had a non-school qualification before arriving in Australia. Of these, 78 per cent had a Bachelor Degree or higher.

A third of temporary residents had obtained a non-school qualification after arriving in Australia, with 61 per cent of these completing a Bachelor Degree or higher.

The report said the proportion of recent migrants and temporary entrants reporting wages or salary as their main source of household income gradually increased with length of stay in Australia.

It said household income was an important indicator of people’s material standard of living and most recent migrants (84 per cent) reported wages and salary as their main source of household income, whereas just 9.7 per cent said Australian or overseas government pensions or allowances were their main source of household income.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of temporary residents reported wages and salary as their main source of household income, but temporary residents were less likely than recent migrants to report Australian or overseas government pensions or allowances as their main source of household income (3.7 per cent).

At the time of the survey, in November last year, the Australian population aged 15 years and over was 19.1 million people. Of these people, an estimated 6.8 million, or 35 per cent, were born overseas.

Around 1.9 million of the people born overseas arrived in Australia to live after 2006 and were aged 15 years and over on arrival.

This represents 10 per cent of the total population aged 15 years and over.

Not covered in the analysis were 254,600 people who were an Australian or New Zealand citizen before arrival or held New Zealand citizenship as at November 2016.

The survey focused on 1.7 million people who were recent migrants or temporary residents, who are the focus of this commentary.

Egyptian skilled migrant Shad Tobgy struggled to enter the job market in Australia but finally landed a senior financial systems analyst role with an IT company.

Shad migrated in late 2016, planning for his wife and two young children to join him in Australia once he had found the family a new home.

However it took Shad several months to land a job.

He enrolled in a Skilled Professional Migrant Program (SPMP) in an attempt to improve his readiness for the Australian job market.

He said the program provided him with guidance on matching a cover letter and resume to a job ad, and on how to enhance his interview skills.

“I was also matched with a mentor who helped me gain my confidence back, after I nearly lost it due to the nerve-wrecking eight months of rejections,” Shad said.

It was a fellow student who alerted Shad to the position.

“We would often send jobs to each other, so I am really grateful for my classmates’ support, it was my first networking experience in Australia” Shad said.

After six rounds of interviews, including four using an online platform, Shad was offered the position which requires him to report directly to the United States.

Shad says that skilled migrants like himself have a lot to take in when they first arrive in Australia.

“After preparing to answer so many behavioural questions I started to forget what my technical skills were,” he said.

“I had many ups and downs over eight months, so I think it’s really important to keep yourself updated in your field,” Shad said.

He also says the importance of networking should never be underestimated.

“Networking is the only effective weapon new migrants have, and for me, it started with my SPMP classmates,” Shad said.

 

Laurie Nowell
AMES Australia Senior Journalist