New research reveals that more than one in five Australians are contemplating departing the country within the next year.
The data came from the latest AustralianNOW study by Quantum Market Research.
The study found that Australia was set to lose about 600,000 people.
The report says that with an increasing proportion of Australians planning to relocate internationally and Australia’s net overseas migration not set to completely recuperate until 2024, the country is expected to face a possible cumulative loss of around 600,000 people.
Young people are driving those numbers, with almost 40 per cent of those aged between 18-29 looking to move.
Men are more interested in relocating internationally compared to women. The majority cited job opportunities as the reason.
The report said that those looking to relocate are more likely to be aged 18-29 (73 per cent) and male (56 per cent compared to 41 per cent for women).
Lifestyle and quality of life have trumped cost of living as the strongest driver of a potential relocation (up from 40 per cent in February 2021 to 49 per cent in August 2022.
Cost of living and housing affordability are strong secondary drivers at 45 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.
Overall, 52 per cent of metropolitan-based Aussies would consider moving either within the country or overseas, higher than the 42 per cent of those living in regional areas.
West Australians were the most likely to make a move within the country, while those living in NSW were most likely to consider moving overseas in the next year.
QMR chief executive, Imogen Randell told The Australian that the statistics have created concerns over workforce shortages in the next 12 months, and the data shows that it’s younger Australians aged under 40 who are most likely to be looking to move internationally, and this was a problem because they’re the ones who are being relied upon to cover workforce shortfalls.
She said that many were working overtime to replenish the worker void, leaving them wondering about leaving and potentially taking off. The more that occurs the more difficult it will be for employers to find suitably skilled staff, but given this, it was good that the federal government had already moved to raise the annual immigration intake.
Australia was already encountering considerable workforce shortages due to the lasting impact of the COVID pandemic and closed borders.
However, numerous young people aspire to travel, and young Australians are no different. Travelling is a good thing – it widens the horizons, and young people should travel, it teaches them so much.
It’s pretty normal for young people to want to travel outside of their own country because they have no responsibilities, no children and no mortgages et cetera.
On the other hand, some young people just know what they need without having to sleep in a hostel with a crazy person sleeping next to them. At the end of the day, grass is grass, trees are trees, beaches are beaches, snow is snow, food is food, but everyone acts like Australia is the worst place on this planet, but believe you me there are worse places to live.
But perhaps youngsters should travel to distant places, then it might give them the concept of how good their own country is, especially once you’ve been out there and seen what’s going on in more impoverished countries, I would imagine that Australia stacks up rather well on the grand scale of things.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 