A series of 500,000 new employment opportunities will be created by the forthcoming Budget in Australia during the next two years.

This is the claim made by treasurer Wayne Swan, who said the nation will see joblessness driven down by the government's proposed strategies.

Speaking to the Courier-Mail, he added that measures he is planning to introduce will push down unemployment to 4.5 per cent by providing half a million more positions.

The news source quotes Mr Swan as saying that he believes there will be some need for temporary skilled migration over the coming years and policies are being drawn up to ensure firms can hire the labor they need from overseas to fill talent gaps.

"I don't see the need for a dramatic increase in permanent skilled migration," he explained, adding that he believes the right approach is to "train Australians" to meet employers' requirements.

Australia's unemployment rate stood at 4.9 per cent in March 2011, according to the country's statistics agency.

Posted by Sarah Dixon