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Immigrants from Asia are leading a migration boom to Australia's Victoria, figures show. Almost half of the 30,581 migrants who made Victoria their home in 2004-05 were born in Asian nations.
India was the top source country with 3491 arrivals, up from 1103 a decade ago. China was next with 3059 newcomers, up from 936 in 1994-95, according to the latest Immigration Department data.
"Wages are being undercut by companies bringing over Indian workers, who are put up in hostels and paid poorly," Ann Swain, chief executive of the Association for Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco) told the Daily Telegraph.
According to her, salaries for certain IT workers have fallen in recent months.
Winter vegetable growers in California's Imperial Valley and the US state of Arizona offered bonuses to recruit workers for the current season, and some raisin producers in the southern San Joaquin Valley couldn't find help to handle their crop, according to reports.
Grape grower Bob Lauchland said he saw signs of a tight labor market during the fall harvest.
A change to the way skilled migrants are selected will target top quality migrants and will increase the benefits to New Zealand employers, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said 21 Dec.
"New Zealand is an attractive destination for skilled migrants. Demand is high for places in our residence categories. We can afford to be more selective to target the top talent, and those with job offers in areas of skill shortage," Mr Cunliffe said.
The European Commission on Dec. 21 unveiled new plans on economic migration to the European Union aimed at creating legal alternatives to illegal immigration.
In order to boost Europe's attractiveness to highly qualified workers, the Union is considering introducing an EU work permit, it added. The scheme would be introduced by one member state but be valid throughout the 25-nation bloc.
Immigration was one of the solutions to the challenge posed by ageing populations, but the Union first has to use EU nationals and third-country nationals already resident on the bloc's territory, the Commission said.
Canada has no interest in a new U.S. initiative to study building a security wall along the border, Canadian officials said. A cross-border business group said it makes no sense when what's urgently required are measures to speed the flow of trade.The study "on the use of physical barriers" was slipped into an amendment to a bill on border security and illegal immigration passed Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives.