Workers in Europe have been told of the possibility of jobs in Australia, thanks to the country's booming mining industry.

Reuters has reported that up to 100 men attended a meeting held by a migration agent in Dublin last week to hear that they could escape Ireland's 15 per cent unemployment rate by heading to the other side of the globe.

David Varley, a 29-year-old who was present at the conference, told the news agency that he had just been laid off after working as a rail engineer and now believes he could make the move to Australia.

"I want to go and make money, not just get by. A friend just got a job at a mine and she said they're looking for engineers, though I'm not sure what kind," he explained.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently revealed that the unemployment rate was at 4.9 per cent in May, with an extra 7,800 moving into a job in the month.

Posted by Sarah Dixon