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For many refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia, finding employment can be a stressful and challenging en-devour.

A lack of recognized work experience, difficultly with permanent residency and failure by the Australian government to recognize overseas qualifications are some of the main challenges faced by those seeking employment.

The pandemic has only exacerbated these barriers.

New research by Monash University and the University of Melbourne has found that for refugee and asylum seeker workers, job loss and discrimination when seeking employment has increased during the pandemic.

The research also found that as a result of the increased competition in the labour market from the economic effects of COVID-19, many employers had an “Australian first mentality”.

The Wire’s Sophie Ellis spoke with Lead author of the research, Author Diarmuid Cooney-O’Donoghue from Monash Business School.

Produced By: Sophie Ellis

Featured In Story: Lead Author Diarmuid Cooney-O’Donoghue, Monash Business School, and

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 1 September 2021