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Australian Industries Employing Skilled Migrants by Sector


If you are considering moving to Australia for employment opportunities, you may be interested to know what percentage of the Australian labour market is comprised of migrant workers, or more specifically, how many foreign workers have been employed in your sector in recent years.


Statistical data has recently been made available that sheds light on the foreign composition of the Australian labour market.


On 18 December 2017 the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a publication detailing information about migrants who entered Australia over the last decade based on information collected from the November 2016 Characteristics of Recent Migrants Survey.


The data reveals that as at November 2016 there were over 3.2 million workers (born overseas) who were employed in the Australian workforce: with over half a million of those workers arriving between 2012 and 2016 alone.


Of these half a million migrants, the highest number of foreign male employees in the workforce at the date of the survey, were employed in the Accommodation and Food Services sector, whilst the Health Care and Social Assistance sector employed the most foreign female workers.


The link below presents figures revealing the total number of male and female foreign workers employed by each industry sector between 2012 and 2016:



The NSW Government also continues to emphasise the important role that international migrants play in the functioning of the home labour market. The NSW Department of Industry has announced that “NSW is open for business” and assures prospective migrants that “there is no better time to make the move and take advantage of the abundant opportunities available in NSW”.


So if you are considering a move to Australia in pursuit of a new employment or business venture, now is an opportune time to begin planning your move.


Contact SCA Connect today to discuss your options with one of our Migration Agents.


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