The Australian Government has just released a report titled Australian Labour Market for Migrants—July
2023. It draws on the big-data picture of Australia’s labour market in May 2023, singling out and analysing the figures relevant to the migrant population, along with data covering migrants only. May’s data, published in July.

In short, it’s an employment-data report to guide migrants’ job search

It’s a useful reference for anyone interested in working in Australia long- or short-term, for organisations that provide related services, and for prospective applicants.

Overall data for Australia’s labour market

The 12 months to May 2023

The three industries that added the most jobs were:

Health Care and Social Assistance +119,100

Construction+113,500

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services+61,800

The three fastest-growing industries by employment were:

Construction 9.3%

Arts and Recreation Services 7%

Health Care and Social Assistance 5.9%

Popular fields such as social work, nursing, aged care, teaching, accounting, IT, engineering and architecture all fall within the top-ranking industries.

decline in employmentThe three industries with the largest declines were:

Administrative and Support Services -21,400

Other Services -20,800

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services -19,000

Anyone with some understanding of Australian migration will know the ANZSCO Code, commonly referred to as the occupation code.

The first digit of the occupation code indicates the type of occupation:

1 stands for managerial occupations, e.g. 141111 Cafe or Restaurant Manager

2 stands for professional occupations, e.g. accountant is 221111, software engineer is 261313, civil engineer is 233211.

3 stands for trades occupations, e.g. cook is 351411

and so on with 4/5…

Most migration occupations are 2 – professional occupations, some are 3 trades and 1 managerial occupations, with a small share in 4/5

Professional (2) roles added the most jobs

Community and Personal Service (4) roles grew the fastest

Across Australia, professional roles added the most jobs – 145,000 in all – while community and personal service roles grew the fastest, at a 6% growth rate.

Unemployment rates by state

– Compared with May 2022, every state fell except Western Australia, and even WA saw only a slight rise from 3.2% to 3.6%

– Canberra had the lowest unemployment rate, at 2.9%

– South Australia had the highest unemployment rate, at 3.9%

Migrant-only data

First, who counts as a migrant?

In its labour-market data, Jobs and Skills Australia defines a migrant as a person not born in Australia，people not born in Australia are further split into those from English-speaking countries or non-English-speaking countries。

In other words, anyone born in China – whether you now hold PR, citizenship or a temporary visa, and whether you arrived 20 years ago or 2 years ago – is classed as a migrant in the data below.

Migrants from non-English-speaking countries (in blue)

make up the highest share of the workforce in Canberra and Victoria, at 27.5% and 29.2%

New South Wales and the Northern Territorysit in the second tier, both around 26%

Tasmanialeans most heavily towards locals: 81.5% of people working there were born in Australia, well above next-placed Western Australia on 60%

We don’t think this comes down to discrimination; it’s largely driven by industry mix. Tasmania has strong farming, fishing and tourism sectors, and migrants tend to be less involved in roles within these industries.

New arrivals face some hurdles at first

Jobs and Skills Australia notes that migrants’ employment outcomes depend on many factors – skill level, English ability, work experience and length of time in Australia, among others. That said, it has consistently observed that recent arrivals have a higher average unemployment rate than longer-settled migrants.

The migrant unemployment data for the past 12 months tells the story: those in Australia for less than 5 years had the highest unemployment rate, regardless of whether English was their first language.

Because Australia places great weight on work experience – and some industries value local experience even more – some migrants, even with years of overseas experience, have to work hard to land a relevant job after arriving, leading to a waste of talent and skills. The recognition of work experience and qualifications has also long been a hot topic.

If you’d like to understand the migration, study and employment opportunities for different occupations and fields in Australia, get in touch with our consultants below to arrange an assessment for you!

Finally, here’s a more detailed summary table

the share of each industry in total employment, by state

(not limited to migrants)

From a big-picture view, this helps answer the question we’re often asked: “Which state is the best place to find a job in my occupation?”“I want to move to a particular state – will it be hard to find a role like mine there?”

The higher-share industries in each state are:

New South Wales

Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 10.4%

Victoria

Health Care and Social Assistance 15.4%

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 10.4%

Queensland

Health Care and Social Assistance 16.3%

Construction 9.5%

Western Australia

Health Care and Social Assistance 13.4%

Mining 10.1%

South Australia

Health Care and Social Assistance 17.4%

Retail Trade 9.7%

Tasmania

Health Care and Social Assistance 16.7%

Public Administration and Safety 15.5%

Canberra

Public Administration and Safety 28%

Health Care and Social Assistance 12.5%

If you’ve been in Australia for a while, the figures above will probably feel broadly in line with reality. And if you’re planning to come or have only just arrived, the data really can offer some useful guidance. As always, whether you can find a job depends on many factors, and the broader environment is only one of them. Australia’s unemployment rate is currently among the lowest in its history, so conditions are favourable. Each state also has its own industry focus, which affects your chances of finding a matching role. But many, many other factors come into play too…

By the way, with so many people working in Health Care and Social AssistanceHealth Care and Social Assistance, this is further proof of just how comprehensive and well-developed Australia’s healthcare and social-support services really are.

Past articles worth revisiting

Choosing a major / planning your migration when you want both PR and good job prospects?! Recommended courses

Can the self-employed apply for employer sponsorship? A couple’s business? A company you’ve invested in? Which ones qualify?

One read to master the Subclass 485 visa – just how many years can you get?

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An employment-data report to guide migrants’ job search — the latest official figures! Which states have the highest share of migrant employment? Whether you’re on PR or a temporary visa, already in Australia or still planning, it’s all useful!

Choosing a major / planning your migration when you want both PR and good job prospects?! Recommended courses

Can the self-employed apply for employer sponsorship? A couple’s business? A company you’ve invested in? Which ones qualify?

One read to master the Subclass 485 visa – just how many years can you get?

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