Migrants in the Australian labour market: some trends and developments

A clear trend of declining labour force participation rates for the overseas born in Australia seems to reflect the impact of ageing on the overseas born population as well as the impact of industrial restructuring among the overseas born. On the former, the overseas born are more highly represented in older age groups that are associated with lower labour force participation rates. On the latter, the overseas born have been more concentrated in industries and occupations whose share of total employment has been declining. Still, migrants arriving in the past few years have had a more positive experience in the Australian labour market with relatively high participation rates and low unemployment rates. The improvement seems to reflect several factors including migration program and policy changes as well as improved labour market conditions. Pagination on item is incorrect Copyright. Monash University and the author/s