The results of a survey released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week show that more than half the recent migrants to Australia came from Asia.
According to data revealed in the latest issue of the Characteristics of Recent Migrants survey, as of November 2010, over 1.4 million people born overseas, (aged 15 years or over on arrival), and who arrived since 2000, were living in Australia.
This group included over 400,000 people who secured a permanent visa, 308,000 who acquired citizenship, and 477,000 on temporary visas.
51 per cent of the total number of migrants have come from Asia, while nearly 25 per cent were born in Europe. Southern and Eastern Europe accounts for 5.6 per cent.
The UK remains in the top three countries supplying migrants to Australia accounting for 15 per cent of the total. India is in second place (13 per cent), and China third (10 per cent).
Permanent additions from China in the past year rose from 25,366 to over 29,000, whilst migrants from India decreased in the same period decreased from 23,342 to just under 22,000.
The survey goes on to track the labour force participation rates of recent migrants, showing that 74 per cent participated in the labour market, compared to 69 per cent for the Australian-born population.
The largest proportion of employed recent migrants was in the ‘Professionals’ occupation group (27 per cent) – almost double the proportion employed in the next highest occupation group, ‘Technicians and trades workers’.
A further 13 per cent were employed as ‘Clerical and administrative workers’, and another 13 per cent as ‘Managers’. 10 per cent were ‘Labourers’.
6.3 per cent of recent migrants, compared to 3.2 per cent of the Australian-born community were unemployed.
Source: ABS. ‘Perspectives on Migrants, 2011′ – Characteristics of recent migrants’.