Kiwi’s Flocking Homeward
Posted on 18th May 2014 by Russell Phillips
According to Trademe, hot off the press are the new immigration figures that show the pattern of migration between New Zealand and Australia has taken a very interesting turn.
Australia has long been a go-to place for Kiwis looking abroad for opportunities, however, it seems to be losing its lustre. We’ve become used to people hopping the ditch each month by the thousands, but last month only 200 made the trip, which is the lowest number ever. With just 11,000 people making the move this past year, it doesn’t take a mathematician to explain that this is a really big change and the brain drain seems to be coming to a halt.
Now that the wind has gone out of Australia’s economic sail (especially following the recent federal budget that will inflict further pain), things are on a decidedly positive upswing here. Kiwis are now flocking back home to take advantage of our yin to Australia’s yang. So we have a double whammy; not only are we retaining local talent like never before, but good people who left for greener pastures are now returning home in big numbers.
Over 70,000 people immigrating to New Zealand last year caused ports to bulge with the influx (confession time; I’m one of them). I’ll let the politicians argue about whether that’s an entirely good thing or not because of the impact on the housing shortage and healthcare system. However, for a growing job market, this will make it easier to source and retain great talent. So from my point of view, this all points to good times ahead in the jobs market – at least in theory anyway.
Acknowledgement – Source: Trademe 27-05-2014