China-born migration to South Australia: population and labour force implications.

Abstract

Chinese migration to Australia has a long history and had an important influence on Australian development. However, the last decade has seen an unprecedented increase not only in the scale of migration from China to Australia but also in its impact on the Australian economy and society. This impact however has remained little investigated and the present study seeks to examine one important dimension – the effect of Chinese migration on the labour market. In order to do this, it focuses on immigration from China to South Australia, a state which has been lagging economically and, until recently, was experiencing low levels of immigration and population growth compared to Australia as a whole. The study focuses on the period from 2003-2008 which not only saw a rapid increase in immigration from China to Australia but was a period in which the South Australia government initiated a population policy in order to increase economic and population growth. The study examines the changes in the scale, nature and composition of Chinese immigration to Australia and South Australia focusing on both permanent settlement and temporary movement. The major part of this study examines the labour market impact of Chinese immigration by analysing the participation of Chinese immigrants in South Australia’s labour force. It considers levels of employment as well as whether the jobs taken up by China-born immigrants match their qualifications and experience. Their experience is compared to that of other migrant groups and the Australia-born population. The study utilizes data from the 2006 Census on Population and Housing collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as well as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship data. The final part of the study considers the impact of recent policy on China-born immigration to Australia and South Australia and draws out the policy implications of the findings. It assesses how successful immigration from China has been in meeting skill and labour shortages and in contributing to the development objectives of the South Australian government. It makes suggestions for immigration and settlement policy to maximize the benefits of China-born migration to South Australia and to the migrants themselves.