Lao people
In the 1970s, a third of Lao people secured employment through connections with friends and relatives, with many jobs concentrating in the manufacturing industry. A smaller proportion (28.2%) of Lao-Australians stated they utilized resources provided by migrant centers to secure jobs including the assistance of Employment Officers. For unemployed Lao people looking for work, low levels of English proficiency (85.7%) were the dominant obstacle that preventing them from finding employment followed by a lack of job vacancies (42.9%). During the 1990s, Lao women typically worked in factories along with Lao men, although some men worked as janitors, gardeners or in construction.