Wednesday, May 04, 2005

AUSTRALIA:Labour Shortage May Derail Speeding Economy

AUSTRALIA:Labour Shortage May Derail Speeding Economy
Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY, Australia May 4 (IPS)

Faced with an acute labour shortage that has left construction companies unable to bid for projects and farmers watching fruit rot on trees, Australia might have little choice but to seek 'guest' workers.

Canberra seems serious about a guest workers scheme to grant foreigners short-term visas to work as low-skilled workers. Also, those on working holiday visas would be able to extend them to meet the labour downfall.

This is despite the idea being slammed by certain politicians as ''against the national ethos''. With unemployment at a 28-year low of 5.1 percent, Australian industry has urged the government to introduce guest workers to fill a record 148,300 positions in manufacturing, industry and agriculture.

''Australia is in the grip of record low unemployment. When unemployment is low it is hard to find labour,'' complained Treasurer Peter Costello in a recent speech to an industry conference dinner. But now, there is a debate on whether this local shortage could be plugged by the government funding more apprenticeships for young Australians and encourage the trainees to stay on the job with better wages and conditions, instead of importing labour from poorer countries to fill the vacancies.

While industry and employers tend to favour the latter, the trade unions argue that young Australians must be given better training to help plug the skills and labour shortfall.

''There's been a blurring of apprenticeship schemes,'' Paul Bastian, New South Wales state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, told IPS.

''The government gives subsidies for short term training of 12 months or less to companies, who in turn use this money to have cheap labour, as opposed to the four-year traineeships that used to be the norm before,'' revealed Bastian.

The unionist argues that the training base for young Australian apprentices used to be the government's large infrastructure projects. But ever since these projects became privatised or outsourced, said Bastian, the training base has shrunk considerably.

''The private sector has not taken up the slack because they are interested purely on profits and the bottom line.''

Meanwhile, a federal government economic modelling report released last week argues that an increased migrant intake will help to cause a steady rise in the skills level of Australia's workforce and make each citizen 703 Australian dollars (546 U.S. dollars) better off by 2022.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone announced recently that working holiday visa holders would be allowed to apply for an extension to stay in the country if they have done harvesting work for at least three months in regional Australia.

The working holiday visa programme has grown significantly from 50,000 applicants per annum in the mid-1990s to over 100,000 this year.

Most of these visa holders come from North America, Europe and Japan. Meanwhile, the 'Sydney Morning Herald' reported last week that increasing numbers of illegal workers, mainly from Latin America, Middle East and Asia, are now working in farms across Australia.

The daily revealed that contractors were providing the labour to farms around Griffith in north- western New South Wales which is a major farming area in Australia. They have been working about 10 hours a day for a daily wage of between 80 to 90 Australian dollars (62 to 70 U.S. dollars) a day.

Many of these workers seem to have been brought there on three-month visitor visas that forbid them to work. Since July last year, immigration authorities have stepped up raids on workplaces, farms and homes, and nabbed over 21,000 undocumented workers.

Last week, immigration authorities raided a farm near Robinvale in Victoria's far north-west and arrested 35 foreign workers without proper papers. The group included 26 Malaysians, six Singaporeans and three Chinese. John Davies, the regional manager of poultry producer Barrters in Griffith told the 'Herald' that it was hard and dirty work inside the poultry farms and many locals didn't want to do it. ''Of the 550 workers in our processing plant, there are 53 different nationalities,'' boasted Davies, adding that his company has lobbied the government to change immigration laws to allow migrant workers to come in. Griffith, which is in the agricultural heartland of Australia and the fastest growing city in inland Australia, has between 600 to 700 job vacancies at any one time across all industries, according to the City Council's economic development officer Stephen Joyce.

The government has recently announced that the skills migration programme will be expanded this year to 120,000 visa approvals. But, Labor Shadow Minister for Immigration Laurie Ferguson argues that ''drastically increasing the migrant intake is only a quick fix''. ''Australia does not necessarily need to import all skilled workers from overseas. We need to be cautious, and only in the most drastic circumstances would this be an option,'' he told IPS.

''What is disturbing to see is that the government has created the situation where a staggering 40 percent of people (young Australians) who start their apprenticeship, don't complete their training,'' he pointed out, arguing that more funds should be allocated for technical college training.

Ferguson said that his opposition Labor Party would push for the introduction of a foreign worker photo ID card to track down illegal workers, as well as to crack down on possible exploitation of foreign workers in Australia. (END/2005)
source : www.ipsnews.net

British Asians' immigration fears

British Asians' immigration fears
By Gordon Harcourt BBC News, Southall
Southall is London's little India in a borough which is home to 50,000 Indians and 12,000 other Asians.
In a part of west London where you can even pay in rupees in a pub, many people are worried at the rising temperature of the immigration debate.
"People are becoming concerned, especially in this area," said one voter.
Avtar Lit, owner of the UK's best-known Asian radio station Sunshine Radio, is not impressed by the main parties' handling of immigration.
"For four or five years between elections the politicians say good things about the Asian community then come to election they go back to a divisive policy which doesn't do the country, host community or the immigrants any good."
Rising migrant numbers are a fact - but the costs and benefits of immigration are hotly contested.
Increased immigration produces fear; fear produces hatred; hatred produces racism Lawyer Geeta Sidhu
A recent study says that migrants earn more on average and pay more tax than those born in Britain.
But pressure group Migrationwatch UK disagrees.
They say that money sent home by migrants and pressures due to population growth outweighs any gains from migration.
'Work hard'
Polling consistently shows that the Conservative approach of tougher controls is to the taste of British voters.
And not just white Britons.
A poll by the BBC's Asian Network radio station shows that 60% of British Asians say there are too many immigrants in Britain.
Lawyer and former Conservative candidate Geeta Sidhu says increased immigration is a cause of racism against established migrant communities.
"Increased immigration produces fear; fear produces hatred; hatred produces racism.
"This racism strikes in low-income poverty areas that are overcrowded and traditionally the home base of any immigrant."
Southall-based Noon Foods employs around 900 people and its owner Sir Gulam Noon says migrants must take some responsibility for integration into their new home.
"We must have the right people as immigrants.
"People who are prepared to work hard, assimilate into our society and learn the English language."
Plenty of British voters are steamed up about immigration and, whichever party wins, new controls will be introduced.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

USA:20,000 Additional H1B Filings Effective from May 12, 2005

NEWSFLASH! - 20,000 Additional H1B Filings Effective from May 12, 2005
Posted May 03, 2005



. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NewsFlash : 20,000 Additional H1B Filings Effective from May 12, 2005

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) indicated on May 2, 2005, that it will publish a rule in the Federal Register on May 5, 2005, regarding the 20,000 additional H1B filings for persons with U.S. masters' degrees or higher. Available for public inspection, the rule indicates that the H1B petitions and conversions will be accepted five (5) business days after the rule is published, which should be May 12, 2005.

We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. have prepared this detailed summary of the USCIS announcement for the benefit of our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers. We trust that this important information will help those who have been anxiously awaiting an update on this matter.

20,000 H1Bs will be Available Each Fiscal Year

The USCIS confirmed that the 20,000 H1Bs for persons with a U.S. masters' degree or higher will be available every fiscal year.

Benefit Limited to Persons with U.S. Master's Degree or Higher

The USCIS will only accept petitions for the 20,000 H1Bs for beneficiaries who have a U.S. master's degree or higher education.

20,000 H1Bs to be Filed with Vermont Service Center

The 20,000 H1B petitions and conversions will only be accepted by the Vermont Service Center (VSC). All other service centers and eFilings will reject petitions for the 20,000 H1Bs. EFilings have been temporarily suspended for all H1B cases and will not be re-implemented until further notice. The H1B petitions must be filed at the special address at the VSC that will accept these H1B petitions and not to the standard Vermont Service Center address used for other H1Bs and other filings.

Conversion Possible from October 1, 2005 to an Earlier Date

If an H1B petition for FY2006 is pending or approved, the USCIS will accept a conversion request for the petition so that it is approved with a start date on or before September 30, 2005, if certain conditions are satisfied. To convert, the petitioner must send (a) a letter requesting the conversion; (b) a copy of the approval notice for the FY2006 petition OR a copy of the receipt notice for the FY2006 petition OR a copy of the first two pages of the I-129 petition if the receipt notice has not been received OR a new Form I-129; (c) a certified Labor Condition Application from the U.S. Department of Labor valid for the period of requested employment.

There is no fee for converting the petition. The petition will be treated as if filed on the day of the conversion request for purposes of the FY2005 request. If there is no FY2005 number available, the original filing date will be used for processing the petition and assigning a number for FY2006 starting on or after October 1, 2005. If the petitioner already requested premium processing, or if the FY2006 petition has been approved, the petitioner does not need to request premium processing or pay a premium processing fee. If premium processing was not originally requested on the pending FY2006 case that the petitioner is converting, and the petitioner now wants premium processing, the petitioner may file the I-907 to request conversion and pay the premium processing fee.
©MurthyDotCom
Cap-Exempt H1Bs Never Counted against 20,000 Quota
©MurthyDotCom
Regarding H1Bs that are already cap-exempt, the USCIS has indicated that they will not be counted against the 20,000 quota, either. Therefore, H1Bs employed at institutions of higher learning or in nonprofit research do not count against either the 65,000 or the 20,000 additional H1B quotas.
©MurthyDotCom
Random Selection of Cases When Cap Neared
©MurthyDotCom
Cases generally will be processed on a First-In / First-Out basis. However, the USCIS will use historical data and statistics to determine when the 20,000 FY2005 cap and all subsequent caps might be reached. For the FY2005 cases, the USCIS will look at the H1B petitions received on the day that they stop taking petitions and on the next day and will randomly select the number of H1B petitions that they will process. To avoid multiple filings, the USCIS has indicated that they will assume any petitions filed for FY2005 will accept a FY2006 (October 1, 2005) start date if the FY2005 numbers are no longer available unless the petitioner clearly indicates otherwise on the petition.
©MurthyDotCom
For future fiscal years, they will use this random selection process on the last day. For example, if the USCIS indicates that they will stop accepting cases for FY2006 on March 1, 2006, and the USCIS only needs to receive 1,000 approvable H1B petitions to reach the cap, they will randomly select the number of petitions they will need to reach the cap on that date, even if they actually receive 10,000 petitions on that day. The rest will be returned to the petitioner, along with a refund of the fees.
©MurthyDotCom
Premium Processing may be Used to Obtain Faster Approval
©MurthyDotCom
As mentioned above, employers may pay the $1000 premium-processing fee for the FY2005 cases to obtain an expedited approval.
©MurthyDotCom
Conclusion
©MurthyDotCom
The USCIS recommends that persons seeking the 20,000 H1Bs file on the initial date that the additional 20,000 H1Bs are available, if possible. They anticipate that the numbers will be used quickly. All conversion requests and new FY2005 petitions should be filed as quickly as possible.
©MurthyDotCom
This detailed summary prepared by The Law Office of Sheela Murthy should help all employers and employees who have been anxiously awaiting details on this hot issue.

Copyright 2005, The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. All Rights Reserved
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Slogans belonging to The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. are registered with the U.S. Trademark Office. Slogans registered are 'Immigration Matters!' 'Your immigration matters!' 'We know immigration matters!' 'We know your immigration matters!' and any other derivatives containing the above text and meaning.

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Copyright 2005, THE LAW OFFICE OF SHEELA MURTHY, P.C. All Rights Reserved

MURTHYBULLETIN
Weekly Immigration eNewsletter
THE LAW OFFICE OF SHEELA MURTHY, PC

UK: Immigration's blairing at polls

Immigration's blairing at polls
URMI A GOSWAMI TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ WEDNESDAY, MAY 04, 2005 12:34:23 AM]


NEW DELHI: Immigration continues to dominate the run up to the election day in the UK. Nearly a fourth of British voters consider rising immigration as their top-most concern, ahead of healthcare or education. It then doesn’t take rocket science to work out why Labour and Tory politicians are spending so much time on immigration-related subjects. A poll conducted in February by Market & Opinion Research International (MORI), Britain’s largest independently-owned market research company, had found that 23% of those polled said immigration and asylum was the most important issue facing Britain at the moment. It was among the top two issues for 40% of those polled. The situation hasn’t changed closer to election day. A recent poll by MORI for BBC Asian Network shows that 60% of those questioned said there were already too many immigrants in Britain. Next to asylum issues and illegal immigrants, economic migrants are the focus. Fact is their numbers have been on the rise. There were about 60,000 economic migrants a year in the early 1980s. At present, there about 150,000 a year. Immigrants were 7% of the UK workforce in 1984, in 2004 the proportion had risen to 10.5%. In a bid to corner the voter, all three parties have promised to tighten restrictions on economic migration. The Conservative Party has called for annual refugee and immigrant quotas, and bonds for temporary workers. The Labour Party will reduce asylum numbers by tougher rules on settlement. It has already introduced skills-based points system for permanent immigrants. While the Liberal Democrats have called for quotas for non-EU workers based on skill set.
What makes this focus on economic migrants interesting is that to the average voter, immigration issues are being translated in terms of what it means vis-a-vis housing, school places or crime. The immigration ante had been upped by the Tories. By and large, the British populace is dissatisfied with the Labour government’s performance on the issue. As such on immigration, the dominant view is broadly right-wing. According to polls, conducted late last year painted a worrisome picture: the British public are broadly anti-immigration. Interestingly, during the last elections it was healthcare and education that were considered to be central issues. It is this shift in focus that prompted the Blair government to opt for an Australian style point system. This after saying it wouldn’t opt for such a system that would be restrictive. Under the new Australian-style points system, migrant workers will need to gain a certain number of points based on the nature and level of skills and experience to gain the right to work in the UK. Further, to present a tough stance on the issue, a new visa fingerprinting system to fingerprint all immigrants on visas at ports of entry by 2008. An identity cards will be introduced for all foreign migrants who will be in the UK for more than three months. Only immediate family members of migrants will be allowed to enter the UK. This will mean restrictions on dependants of migrants bringing in further dependants.
©Bennett, Coleman and Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Canada is wooing Mexican immigrants

Chris Hawley
Republic Mexico City Bureau
May. 3, 2005 12:00 AM

MEXICO CITY - As the United States fortifies its border with Mexico, Canadian companies are reaching out to immigrants who are frustrated by U.S. restrictions and tempted by dreams of a better life in Canada.

The Canadian government has been relaxing its immigration rules in an effort to attract students and skilled workers from all over the world. That, and the push by companies promising jobs and visas, is attracting Mexican professionals turned off by the Minuteman Project, new border walls, tougher U.S. entry requirements and laws like Proposition 200 in Arizona.

"Live in Canada!" says a Mexico City newspaper ad placed by a Canadian labor recruiter, as a photo of the Toronto skyline beckons. "Voted the No. 1 country in the world for living four years in a row," an immigration counseling company boasts on its Web site.

"Canada has its arms open to immigrants, and the United States has its arms closed. It's as simple as that," accountant Marcos Ramírez Posadas said as he stood in line with other visa applicants outside the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City.

The reason, immigration experts say, is that Canada needs more people.

"Our population is shrinking and getting older," said David Rosenblatt, a Canadian immigration lawyer whose firm advertises in Mexico. "Canada, in order to survive and grow, needs to get more skilled workers."

Mexicans are eager to fill the need. Last week, the Canadian Embassy's switchboard was swamped after local television aired a commercial from an immigration law firm about moving to Canada, embassy spokesman Luis Archundia said. None of the recent ads has been placed by the Canadian government itself, he said.


'They have jobs'


"I heard on TV that they have jobs up there," Edgar Solis Peña, a 30-year-old warehouse worker, said as he waited outside the embassy. "It's so hard to even get a hearing at the United States Embassy, so I decided to come here."

The siren song is echoing in the United States, too.

"Come to Canada to work - legally!" says a sign in Spanish recently posted by an immigration consultant near a site frequented by undocumented workers in Mesa, Ariz.

A call to the phone number on the sign yielded a recording that said the voice mailbox overflowed with messages.




Courting immigrants


Mexicans can enter Canada just by showing a passport, much easier than the long, expensive process of getting U.S. visas. Canada also has a widely praised farmworker program and is aggressively courting foreign students.

The country also has an easy-to-follow process for getting work permits that assigns points based on certain skills. The U.S. system is more subjective, with consular officials wielding the power to approve or reject applications without explanation.

Canada's low birth rate, about 1.61 children per couple, means the country needs immigrants to maintain its population of 33 million, Rosenblatt said. The United States is holding steady at 2.08 children per couple.

On April 19, Canada said it would spend $58 million to speed citizenship applications and vowed to triple citizenship approvals for parents and grandparents of immigrants. While they're waiting for citizenship, those people will get 5-year, multiple-entry visas to visit their children in Canada.

Citizenship applicants older than 55 will be exempt from language and Canadian knowledge tests, down from age 60, Immigration Minister Joe Volpe said.

Work rules for foreign college students also will be relaxed, he said. They'll be able to hold jobs off campus, and those who move to smaller cities will be able to work in Canada for two years after graduating , instead of one.

"Canada's immigration system is a model for the world," Volpe said in a written statement announcing the relaxed rules. "(The changes) allow us to maintain and enhance our position."


Rising numbers


That kind of welcome is drawing Mexicans by the thousands.

The number of legal, temporary workers in Canada from Mexico rose 68 percent, to 22,344 from 13,261, from 1998 to 2003, the latest year for which statistics are available. By comparison, there were 110,075 legal, temporary workers admitted to the United States from Mexico in 1998, and 130, 327 in 2003, an 18 percent rise.

"Overall, it's been a really dramatic rise in Canada," said Richard Mueller, an economist at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, who just completed a study of Mexican immigrants.

But the true immigration rate could be much higher.

Thousands of Mexicans get into the country just by flashing a passport. Many probably just disappear and work illegally, immigration experts said.

"I think there are a lot of those, but Canada doesn't want to talk about it," said Luin Goldring, a sociology professor and immigration expert at York University in Toronto.

One clue comes from the number of Mexicans applying for "refugee status," which jumped 89 percent from 2000 to 2003 as the United States began fortifying its border.


Refugee claimants


By 2003, peaceful Mexico was Canada's third-biggest source of refugee claimants, right up there with countries like Pakistan, which is plagued by religious violence, and Colombia, devastated by decades of civil war.

"Mexican refugee claims were negligible three or four years ago. Now you're getting 100 a month in Ontario alone," said Sergio Karas, an immigration lawyer in Toronto. Those claims can drag on for years until they are finally turned down, he said.

Refugee claims aren't necessarily a barometer of illegal immigration. But Costa Rica, another tranquil country whose citizens did not need visas to visit Canada, ranked No. 4 among refugee claimants in 2003, outpacing places like China and strife-torn Sri Lanka.

In May 2004, Canada started requiring visas for Costa Ricans, saying many were staying and becoming undocumented immigrants.


Better living


Family ties and easier entry aren't the only reasons Mexicans choose Canada over the United States. Many visa applicants said they were attracted by Canada's open spaces and lower crime rate.

"I have family in Los Angeles and I've visited them there, but I don't like the lifestyle that Mexicans live up there," said Guillermo Rivas Zaldibar, 38 .

"A lot of those people are not very educated. It's not exactly the best people we're sending up there."

Others said they simply don't like Americans.

"I find them very egotistical," said Ramírez, an accountant for an oil-drilling firm. "There are a lot of historical problems between our countries. Canadians are much nicer; they appreciate other cultures."


Minuteman Project


For Victor Pérez Muciño, 33, a municipal worker in the town of Huixquilucan, recent news coverage of the Minuteman Project, a civilian patrol on the Arizona-Mexico border, was the deciding factor.

"We're always hearing about what they're doing to our fellow citizens . . . all these things with vigilantes, migrant hunters," he said. "Who wants to live with that?"



Reach the reporter at chris.hawley@arizonarepublic.com.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Australian Computer Society and Immigration Policy

Intrigue, whispers greet immigration study
By Sam Varghese
Comment
May 2, 2005 - 12:00AM

The Australian Computer Society appears to have shot itself in the foot by doing something it thought would give it greater credibility - releasing a policy on immigration.

The ACS policy, released on Friday, was informed by studies it had commissioned from labour market consultant Bob Kinnaird and Access Economics. The former's report has been the subject of speculation ever since the ACS said it would not be releasing it in full.

Last year Mr Kinnaird produced a similar report for the ACS which was not released either. The ACS says this was because it considered the findings incomplete and commissioned him to update it.

The ACS is now sitting on the latest report. Speculation has arisen that this is because several of Mr Kinnaird's recommendations will affect the ACS itself, if adopted.

Strangely, for a report whose contents should be known only to two parties, there is a great deal out in the open, with leaks taking place even before the ACS released its immigration policy. The first report was leaked to government sources soon after the ACS decided not to release it in full.

One recommendation by Mr Kinnaird is that 457 visas - meant for senior staff for up to four years - for IT personnel be obtained directly by prospective employers. This would not be welcomed by the IT recruitment industry.

That the ACS policy is backed by the recruitment industry is evident from the fact that Penny Coulter, president of the IT Contract and Recruitment Association and director of IT recruiter Aristotle Corporation, was at the announcement on Friday.

Ms Coulter is not an ACS office bearer. An ACS spokesperson said her presence indicated ICTRA's support for the ACS immigration policy.

ACS president Edward Mandla says Mr Kinnaird's report is not being released in full due to legal problems; both the ACS and Mr Kinnaird hold joint copyright on the report in Australia and only a version which is agreeable to both parties can be made public here.

The ACS, he says, does not agree with all of Mr Kinnaird's recommendations; hence it could not release the report as submitted. Mr Kinnaird, for his part, had sent the ACS a legal notice to ensure that an edited version, with which the ACS was comfortable, was not released.

However, it appears to be only a matter of time before a full version of the report finds its way into Australia from abroad. The IT industry in several developed countries is facing problems similar to those in Australia and Mr Kinnaird's research would be of interest in such countries.

Mr Kinnaird has suggested that three years of study be required before a student is deemed to have obtained a professional IT qualification. At present, the ACS standard is 18 months.

If this were implemented, it would mean more expense for students coming to Australia with a view to permanent settlement and numbers may drop. Bob Birrell, director of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University, has said that, since the Federal Government changed its policy in 2001 to allow students to change their status and obtain permanent residence without leaving the country, a large number from the Indian sub-continent who had taken up courses in Australia.

The universities had reacted "nimbly" to this change of policy by devising courses so that they could attract such students and supplement their income, Mr Birrell said.

While the stalemate over Mr Kinnaird's report continues, the ACS is set to take its policy to the Federal Government this week or the next. It will be interesting to see if the report is leaked to the Government, as it was last year.

source : www.smh.com.au

March Job Vacancy Numbers Show Skill Shortages

March Job Vacancy Numbers Show Skill Shortages
Thursday, 28 April 2005, 1:26 pm
Press Release: Department Of Labour Media Release
27 April 2005
March Job Vacancy Numbers Show Skill Shortages Continuing

Skill shortages continue to grow, the Department of Labour's latest report on advertised job vacancies shows.

The Job Vacancy Monitor showed that March was the 15th consecutive month in which there had been double-digit percentage growth in job advertisements, compared with the same month the previous year. Overall, job vacancies were 14 per cent higher than in the year to March 2004.

Department Deputy Secretary Andrew Crisp said the growth in advertised vacancies reflected the increasing difficulties employers experienced recruiting staff.

To compile the Job Vacancy Monitor, the Department analyses advertised job vacancies in 25 metropolitan and provincial newspapers on a specific day each month to provide a snapshot of the recruitment activity. This is part of a wider programme of gathering and assessing labour market information to enable the Department to assess trends and predict future change.

Mr Crisp said the monthly Job Vacancy Monitor provided a regular and timely insight into advertising trends across all occupational categories.

"This and other reports produced under our monitoring programme indicate that, to a large extent, the skill shortages are a product of New Zealand's strong economy. Economic growth is increasing demand for skilled labour."

The Department's reports inform the Government's strategies for alleviating skill shortages, including immigration and industry training policies. Non-governmental organisations also use Departmental reports to plan for the future.

Mr Crisp said job vacancy advertisement growth showed more employers who might usually fill vacancies by word-of-mouth had resorted to advertising, and were having to re-advertise. This was a consequence of the demand for skills outstripping supply, he said.

The largest increase in advertised vacancies (24 percent) was for highly skilled occupations including accountants and auditors, managers, teachers and health professionals.

Advertising for skilled occupations had increased six percent compared to March 2004 advertising. Skilled occupations include technicians, associate professionals and trade workers.

Mr Crisp said the slower increase in job advertisements for trades workers was the result of the steadying off in vacancies for building trades, which dominate this category.

"This probably reflects a levelling off of activity in the construction industry," he said.

Zero growth in building trade vacancies was somewhat compensated by 12 percent growth for metal trades.

Semi-skilled/elementary vacancies increased by 16%, with strong growth for plant/machine operators and assemblers, agriculture and fishery workers, service and sales workers, and elementary workers.

A separate Department initiative counts IT positions on a weekly basis on two websites. In March the number of positions increased by 55 percent compared with March 2004.

"The current labour market conditions are expected to prevail for some time, meaning skill shortages will continue. The unemployment rate is expected to edge lower in the first half of this year and stay under four percent over the next 18-24 months," Mr Crisp said.

source : www.scoop.co.nz