Skilled workers leaving Australia in droves

MELBOURNE, Oct 7 - Australia has experienced its biggest annual exodus on record with 76,923 people leaving the country permanently in 2007-08, a new report shows.

And it appears the skills crisis is only set to worsen with the report showing almost half of those who left Australia permanently were in skilled jobs.

Almost two-thirds of those who left the country permanently were aged between 25 and 54.

A further 102,066 Australian residents left the country for a year or more with more than 55 per cent in professional occupations or trades, the Emigration 2007-2008 report shows.

Australia’s Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the figures showed that emigration played a significant role in Australia’s current skills shortage.

“Historically high numbers of our young, highly skilled people are moving overseas to live and work,” Senator Evans is quoted by the Australia Associated Press as saying.

The exodus in 2007-08 represents a 6.7 per cent increase on the previous year and a 325 per cent increase on the low of 18,100 people who left permanently in 1985-86.

“These latest figures also reflect the current global demand for skills and the internationalisation of the labour market as part of the broader process of globalisation,” Senator Evans said.

The main countries of intended residence for all permanent departures were New Zealand (18.4 per cent), the United Kingdom (17.8 per cent), the United States (9.3 per cent), Hong Kong (7.2 per cent) and Singapore (6.4 per cent).

Of the permanent departures, 39,467 or 51 per cent were men compared with 37,456 women (49 per cent).

There were 149,635 permanent arrivals in 2007-08. — Bernama

That's always the case isn't it? Locals wanting to leave for better jobs and foreigners coming in to look for jobs that their country of origin cannot offer. Only thing is we are attracting all the maids, construction workers and other so called cheap labor whereas, graduates disappear to other countries. I am no different! And what this does is increasing the crime rates because they think they can get away with it as foreign nationals..just send them back la! We are not solving the problem this way..