Employment, income, and skill alignment of humanitarian migrants in the Australian labour market: Metropolitan and regional contexts, 2000–2016

Abstract

Humanitarian migration to Australia has reached new levels, accompanied by unprecedented complexity and diversity. Little is known about labour market integration for these newcomers, nor about how well their skills match those required for or relevant to their employment. Here we analyse how labour force engagement and skill alignment are influenced by migration status, including migration scheme, region of birthplace, applicant status, year of arrival, citizenship, and internal migration after settlement, and metropolitan versus regional geographic location of settlement. In particular, we focus on employed humanitarian visa holders who arrived between 2000 and 2016. Using the 2016 Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset (ACMID) for quantitative analysis, our modelling established that they were not as likely to be in the labour force as skilled visa holders. Similarly, humanitarian visa holders who were employed were less likely to be in jobs that matched their skills and more likely to have lower income levels. Moreover, there were significant differences in skill alignment between those settling in metropolitan and in regional areas. The relative probability of being over-skilled was correlated with migration scheme, origin, duration since arrival, internal movement in the year preceding the census, proficiency in spoken English, family status, and gender. Labour market outcomes varied by visa subtype and by metropolitan versus regional settlement. We conclude that the design of migration policy requires further important consideration, both to improve the outlook for this vulnerable population and to address chronic skill shortages in Australia.