An Examination of the Employment Structure of Taiwanese Immigrants in Australia

Abstract

Taiwanese emigration has reached a considerable level in the last ten years, with 20,0000 to 25,000 annually heading for mjaor destinations such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Rapid economic growth, political instability, increased personal income, and relaxation of travel restrictions since 1989 are behind this increase. Particularly for Australia, the introduction of economic and business migration policies attracted skilled and entrepreneurial groups. This study examined the employment structure of the Taiwan-born in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the top destinations of Taiwanese immigrants in Australia. Unpublished census data for the years 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1996, supplemented by data from a survey of Taiwanese immigrants in the three cities, provided data for the study. Findings suggest that the employment rate of Taiwanese immigrants is among the lowest of all immigrant groups. Taiwanese men tend to be more economically successful than Taiwanese women in income levels, occupational status, and labor force participation. Most Taiwanese immigrants in Australia experience downward social mobility due to factors such as unaccredited overseas qualifications, the lack of English proficiency and local knowledge, and other institutional discriminatory factors.

Taiwanese Migrants in Australia: An Investigation of Their Acculturation and Wellbeing

“…Another possibility is that gender roles were not deleterious to wellbeing and were not a barrier to the fulfilment of instrumental and psychological needs. It is possible that because Taiwanese migrants are generally financially comfortable, they are not worried about earning an income (Chiang & Kuo, 2000). Further, they migrated to Australia for a better lifestyle and environment rather than for economic benefit (Chiang & Hsu, 2004).…”

Locational Decisions and Residential Preferences of Taiwanese Immigrants in Australia

“…Our earlier attempt in understanding Taiwanese migrant's location decisions in Australia was broadbased and exploratory, along other questions on their reasons for migration, and economic incorporation in Sydney (Chiang and Hsu, 2000;Chiang and Kuo, 2000). On the basis of a questionnaire survey run in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in 1999-2000, we found that education for their children in Australia, as well as the high crime rate and perceived political instability in Taiwan were foremost factors when it came to people's decisions to leave Taiwan.…”

“…This paper looks into an important aspect of the settlement experience of the Taiwanese 1 in Australia in their process of adaptation in the host society. Earlier research on the Taiwanese have amalgamated this national group with other ethnic Chinese (Chiang et al, 1998;Couglan, 1998;Wu et al, 1998) or focussed on their social and economic incorporation in Australia (Chiang and Hsu, 2000;Chiang and Kuo, 2000;Chiang and Song, 2001;Chiang 2004a, b).…”

The Dynamics of Self‐employment and Ethnic Business Ownership among Taiwanese in Australia

“…My research confirms that lack of English language is indeed a major barrier for recent Taiwanese migrants and impedes not only their ability to communicate with Australians, but also their ability to obtain work. Apart from their poor proficiency in English as documented in previous research, Chiang and Kuo (2000) suggested that racial discrimination is a possible factor that explains the relatively poor labour force participation by recent Taiwanese migrants. One of the major difficulties many Taiwanese migrants face is the lengthy and tedious re-certification process.…”

“…An earlier paper (Chiang and Kuo, 2000) used the unpublished 1986, 1991 censuses to examine the labour force participation, employment rates, occupational status, levels of income, and gender differences in the economic integration of Taiwanese immigrants to Australia. Our findings indicated that in 1996, most (34.8%) Taiwan-born male immigrants were engaged in the wholesale, retail, hotel, and restaurant business, followed by financial, property, and business services (17.8%).…”