Australia To Take 22% More Migrants This Year: Thank You, Inflation?

Australia on Friday hiked its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 for this financial year, up by 35,000 or 22%, as it looks to address widespread staff shortages and reduce reliance on short-term workers.

What Happened: "It makes no sense to bring people in, have them for a few years, then get a new cohort in to adapt to the Australian work environment," Australian PM Anthony Albanese told media on the sidelines of a government jobs summit in Canberra, Reuters reported.

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This came after the COVID-19 pandemic led to a massive crunch of staff in the country, leaving the businesses struggling to find staff to keep afloat as an exodus of holiday workers and international students left the country. 

"We want people ... to have a mortgage, to raise a family, to join the Australian family. Migration is part of our story," Albanese added.

The developments will come into effect for the current financial year ending June 2023.

Meanwhile, the country's unemployment rate is at nearly a 50-year-low of 3.4%. However, the labor shortages are leading to soaring inflation in the country.

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