Australia Slashing Immigration Intake

Responding to rising unemployment numbers, Australia will cut their immigration intake by 20,000 to 115,000 this fiscal year. Both building and manufacturing sectors have been removed from the nation’s critical list, so employers in those fields will no longer be able to rely on foreign labor. Employers can still sponsor visas, but they must first prove there is a labor shortage in their area.

“These policies are very popular largely because it’s very appealing to say when unemployment goes up why would you bring foreigners in,” University of Canberra Economics Professor Prof Lewis said in a Sydney Morning Herald story.

More information on this story can be found at the Sydney Morning Herald.