But Indeed economist warns this may not be enough to ease labour shortages and wage pressures
Foreign students and skilled workers are now able to enter Australia for the first time since March 2020, subject to quarantine requirements in their state or territory of arrival.
While the borders were initially set to reopen on December 1, the change was delayed until today amid concerns over the new Omicron variant.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt had said on Monday that the “strong, clear evidence is that all of the vaccines continue to provide very clear coverage against serious illness, hospitalisation and loss of life”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also confirmed the re-opening and that travel bubbles with South Korea and Japan will go ahead at the same time, according to The Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg denied suggestions the Government was not being cautious enough over Omicron, the strain identified in South Africa last month, and said he's determined to get the economy moving again.
“We will continue to listen and follow the health advice, and it has served us well to date. But at the same time, we need to ensure that our economy keeps this momentum going,” he told ABC TV.
“We've seen 350,000 jobs come back since the start of September. We've seen business and consumer confidence lift. We've seen Australia maintain its AAA credit rating. We've seen a very strong pipeline of investment, both in the housing market and more generally across the economy.”
The reopening of the border to foreign students and skilled workers could be a boost to companies looking to bolster their staffing ranks, with the Government estimating that about 235,000 visa holders are now eligible to enter the country, including an estimated 133,000 international students. Today also marks the reopening of Tasmania’s border, with fully vaccinated travellers able to enter the state.
But while hopes are high an influx will ease wage pressure and fix worker shortages, new research shows Australian businesses face a tough fight against international competitors.
According to a report in The Sydney Daily Herald, data compiled by online jobs site business Indeed suggests it may not be that easy to entice skilled migrants away from their home markets or prevent them going to other nations offering larger pay packets.
The report reveals that international student arrivals are down 99.7 per cent on their pre-COVID levels while skilled visas were down 44 per cent through 2020-21 on the previous year. Those granted visas were almost exclusively in the country before the international border was shut early last year.
Indeed senior economist Callam Pickering told the newspaper: “The challenge for Australia will be attracting highly skilled workers in a tight and globally competitive labour market.
“Jobs in many economies, including those from places where Australia traditionally attracts talent, are now tighter than before the pandemic. Australian businesses will need to be proactive in attracting overseas talent if they are to compete successfully against other countries.”
Overseas jobseekers accounted for 6.4 per cent of the clicks on Australian job postings between January and October this year, up from 5.7 per cent in 2020 but still short of the 6.7 per cent rate recorded in 2019. Clicks have fallen most for positions in banking and finance, engineering, information design, scientific research and mathematics.
However, The Herald’s report said that interest in blue-collar jobs such as installation and maintenance or in manufacturing has lifted compared to many other occupations. High level of interest has also remained in medical and construction fields.
“The recovery, though, still has a long way to go and could potentially be delayed by the emergence of the Omicron variant,” Pickering warned.
