The AFR ran two articles over the weekend (here and here) complaining that professional services firms are being hit hard by restrictions on immigration, which has generated acute skills shortages and forced up employee remuneration:
Leaders at businesses that employ professionals, including accountants, programmers and cybersecurity experts, had hoped that the relaxation of skilled-visa restrictions last year would alleviate shortages. That hope has still not been realised as delays in processing have exacerbated the problem…
The net effect is that wage growth in professions including accounting, banking, consulting and IT – where individual contracts dominate over collective agreements – is expected to continue well into this year.
