Australia’s unemployment rate at 5.3 per cent in March 2010: ABS

The Australian unemployment rate remained steady at 5.3 per cent in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced today. The ABS reported the number of people employed increased by 19,600 people to 10.988 million [...]

Australia’s unemployment rate at 5.7 per cent in November 2009: ABS

The Australian seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent in November, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 per cent, from 5.8 per cent in October.

The number of people employed in November increased by 31,200 (0.3%) to 10.868 million, seasonally adjusted, the ABS reported. The rise in employment was driven by a rise in full-time employment, up 30,800 to 7.627 million.

The ABS reported the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed decreased by 13,300 in November, standing at 653,100.

The ABS seasonally adjusted monthly aggregate hours worked series showed a rise in November, up 13.4 million hours (0.9%) to 1,536.3 million hours.

The ABS participation rate in November was 65.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

The ABS seasonally adjusted labour force underutilisation rate was 13.5 per cent in November, down 0.1 per cent from August.

Source: ABS

457 visa changes reduce migrant numbers intake, but healthcare workers still in demand

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans gave assurance that the temporary visa skilled workers program will not be used to undermine local labour. He said that the number of applications for subclass 457 visas lodged last month was the lowest rate in four years [...]

Higher English score now implemented

The language requirement for all subclass 457 trades and chef applicants has been raised, effective yesterday, in response to concerns about the exploitation of workers from non-English speaking countries. A DIAC spokesperson said increasing the existing language requirement from International English Language Testing System (IELTS) 4.5 to IELTS 5 would align the subclass 457 English standard [...]

Australia announces changes to 457 visa program

The Australian Government announced yesterday seven major changes to the Subclass 457 visa program. The measures included indexation of the minimum salary level by 4.1% on 1 July 2009, implementation of a market based minimum salary, increasing the existing minimum language requirement [...]

Immigration issues reminder to employers

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship issued recently a reminder to community employers and companies to check that their staff are entitled to work in Australia. DIAC said that employers in the retail and hospitality industries are among those at the highest risks [...]

New laws to protect overseas workers pass Parliament

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, yesterday welcomed the passage through Parliament with bipartisan support of new laws to better protect temporary overseas workers in Australia. The worker protection legislation was introduced after extensive consultation with industry and unions to strengthen the integrity of temporary working visa arrangements including the subclass 457 visa program [...]

Philippine labour officials to visit Australia

A delegation from the Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will be in Australia 3-14 November for a mission to appraise the needs of Australia for skilled Filipino workers, the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney reported.

The delegation, headed by Labor Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz, former administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), will comprise representatives from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and DOLE officials for international labor affairs and labor studies.

They will visit Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Cairns.

POEA is the Philippines’ peak agency that regulates the hiring of Filipinos for overseas employment. OWWA provides programs that look after the welfare of expatriate Filipino workers. TESDA sets standards and provides the official certifications for technical skills.

The demand for certain categories of Filipino skilled workers prompted the Philippine Department of Labor to study a systematic and streamlined procedure for providing temporary stay workers for the Australian market, as well as to set into place the programs and services that will look after their welfare. #

New Australian laws to protect overseas workers, minimum salary levels increased

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, yesterday introduced a Bill into the Senate that sets out a new framework to better protect temporary overseas workers in Australia. The Migration Legislation Amendment (Worker Protection) Bill 2008 will strengthen the integrity of temporary working visa arrangements including the Subclass 457 visa program [...]

Assessment levels reduced for Philippine student visa applicants

Philippine student visa applicants have recently joined students from 22 other countries applying for their initial student visa online using the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s (DIAC) eVisa facility. The eVisa facility is available to those which require only assessment level one. [...]