NZ visa numbers reach ‘staggering’ record high



More people have been approved to work in New Zealand in the last year than in any other on record.

More than 200,000 people were issued temporary work visas in the year ending June, almost 30,000 more than the year before.

The number of new residents rose 20 percent over the same period to 52,000.

A demographer, Paul Spoonley, said the numbers were staggering and it was not clear whether there was any sign of a slowdown in the number of arrivals, or of the government putting the brakes on.

Professor Spoonley, the pro-vice chancellor of the college of humanities and social sciences at Massey University, said New Zealand now had the highest inflow of workers and new residents of any OECD country.

“The thing that surprises me is that month on month, and year on year, the numbers of visas given to both residents and temporary workers is continuing to increase, as it is with students.

“So there is an important question about when we begin to tail off, either in terms of the numbers of people applying or the government says enough is enough.”

The unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent for the three months ended in March.

Prime Minister John Key said the record number of applications was not displacing local workers from the job market.

“The people that are allowed in are there specifically because their skills are in demand and we don’t have enough NZ to fill those jobs. I suspect those numbers are going to come off a little bit, but overall, they do reflect the demand.”

 

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