THE door is being partially closed on immigration, in an aggressive bid to protect local jobs and wages in the face of the global recession.

The Rudd Government will slash skilled migration this year by 14 per cent, hacking back permanent visas issued from 133,500 to 115,000 - a fall of 18,500.

It will be the first time in more than a decade Australia's intake has been cut, and there is no record of a mid-year reduction of this magnitude.

The move is certain to please trade unions worried about the competition from overseas workers for a shrinking number of jobs.

The Government will protect trades workers by removing their classifications from the critical skills list which sets migration priorities.

That means no further visas this year for bricklayers, plumbers, welders, carpenters and metal fitters in the construction and manufacturing industries.

Those to be still allowed in will be professionals in IT, health, medicine and engineering where there is still strong employer demand.

Employers will not be pleased when the measures are announced today, and will warn that the decision could make it harder to get skilled workers when the economy improves.

And there are potentially thousands of families already in Australia who will be disappointed by the measure - because they will be heading home sooner than they hoped.

Around 50 per cent of permanent visas for skilled workers go to people who come here on a temporary visa, gain the sponsorship of a company, then "upgrade" to stay for good.

The cutback means far fewer will be upgrading.

The top 10 suppliers of skilled migration are Britain, India, China, South Africa, the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the United States.

In 2007-08 about 28,000 workers came from the United Kingdon, 22,000 from India and 20,000 China. And at the other end of the scale, just under 3000 came from the US, just over 3000 from Indonesia and 4150 from Sri Lanka.

The "prudent" cuts were approved by Cabinet last week and reinforce the principle that immigration intakes can vary according to economic circumstances.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans believes the overwhelming message from industry during consultations is that Australia needs a skilled migration program but migrants need to meet shortages, not compete with locals for jobs.