I didn't make the comment of the bosses don't want them.
457 visas are running at 108 thousand bodies. You had better see Abbott he made 457 easier to get.

Skilled workers took a backward turn when the apprenticeship commission was abolished, and employers were allowed to put apprentices off at any time, instead of finding them another employment place. Howard did that.

Howard made the rule that 5% unemployment was capacity, That was to keep a lid on wages growth.

Economy growth rate, and over employment means upward pressure on wages and inflation. You can't have it all ways as one will effect the other.

Doesn,t that mean we still need immigration to maintain that level of unemployment. The only problem with immigration is the type of immigrant you take in.

4 or 5% growth will be inflationary, 1% unemployment will mean no reserve employees, wages will grow.

I used to have a similar experience with hiring staff in the less touristy area of the Gold Coast worldwatcher.

An add for an administration assistant would draw 150 or more applicants, but one for a stores or assembly worker would be lucky to get 3 in a week, & most of those were over 40.

worldwatcher

To say; << in any country an increase in wages automatically produces a rise in the cost of our commodities>> is far to simplistic, you have not allowed for increased efficiency of production brought about by improvements in technology etc, economies of scale etc etc. If it was all down to wages then we would still have a living standard as per yesteryear. Take any production, coal for example, are we still producing coal in 2014 at the same efficiency as it was produced in 1814? In third world countries there is a general concentration on inefficient production which is offset with high labour input at a low cost.
Using Ethiopia again, if what you say was true then the Ethiopian economy should be booming, production coming out of their ears, but its not, and that is due to many other factors besides the cost of labour.

I also believe that the 457 visas should go.
However the problem of low wages in other countries will no longer a
problem, sometime in the 2020s. The cost of international freight will
continue to rise and all bulky freight will disappear and as happened
with furniture and steel production it will return to local production.
Steel production does not seem to have returned to Australia yet but it has in the US.
So there is some hope for local manufacture.

Eventually there will be very little imported goods. The only types of
imported goods will be very small light products with high value such
as computer chips and they will travel as air cargo on the few flights
each day from overseas.

At present this scenario is absolutely beyond the pale for all politicians
so despite the government reports, reports from bodies such as the
NRMA etc etc they just cannot face up to it.
This means we will need to have an interruption to our fuel supplies
before they face up to the problem.

It will need something like this to happen;
Iran to attack Israel or Saudi Arabia.
A terrorist attack on a significant refinery in Saudi Arabia or Singapore.
A maritime confrontation between Indonesia and Australia.
A blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
A Chinese seizure of oil supply anywhere.
Any other fuel shortage around the world for political or commercial reasons.
The OECD's International Energy Authority plans to ration out
supplies in the event of shortage but it has never been exercised

Anything like this will mean immediate petrol and diesel rationing
in Australia. We have only about 30% of consumption of our own oil
but we can no longer refine that much. We can only refine 9% of our
consumption for now. In a couple of years it is likely to be 0%.

Do any of you realise what that will mean ?
Do any of you realise that all fuel would be gone in three weeks ?
Do any of you realise that all super markets would be empty in three weeks ?

That's right mikk. They believe anything their religious leader ToneLIAR instructs them to believe. If someone doesn't conform to "their" political correctness, dogma and ideology he is hated and loathed. Compassion, humanity, fairness and dignity mean nothing to these old radical rightie superannuation bludgers here, living in their comfortable homes made possible by their superannuation tax breaks (welfare). They type furiously day after day in outrage against anything that doesn't conform to "their" dogma.

My above post is in reply to mikk's first post on this topic..