Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship(DIAC) has released figures showing rates of employment amongst the country’s migrant population.

The third ‘Longitudinal Survey’, carried out on 10,000 skilled migrant stream and family stream primary applicants between December 2005 and March 2006, has shown that after 18 months of living in Australia, employment rates for skilled migrants have surpassed the national average of 97%.

Rates of workforce participation amongst the migrant population also stand at one and a half times that of the rest of Australia.

Results for migrants on a spouse visa were also encouraging, with a 95% employment rate and a workforce participation rate of 72%. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship also highlighted the fact that at the time of the first Longitudinal Survey (1993-1995), statistics showed a 25% rate of unemployment amongst the migrant population.