Workers from the US are heading for Australia in order to secure employment, it is claimed.

A report in the Wall Street Journal indicates there has been an increase in labor migration from the former nation to the latter.

It quotes government data showing an 80 per cent climb in the number of US citizens currently on long-term visas in jobs in Australia during the past five years.

The article notes as employment growth remains sluggish at home, almost 7,000 people have found work in down under instead and after recruits from Britain and those hailing from India, US workers are now the third-largest group of applicants for visas in Australia.

Australia's mining sector in particular is booming at present and high numbers of jobs for accountants, engineers, builders and nurses are also available, while government infrastructure schemes are expected to provide more employment opportunities there.

This could lead to skills shortages as latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated the population growth rate slipped to 1.7 per cent during the 12 months to June 2010 from 2.2 per cent the previous year.

Posted by Lee Thrace