The State Government has released an updated version of the WA skilled migration list, slashing it to just 18 eligible occupations.

The list, which used to carry 178 occupations including bricklayers, engineers and nurses, was torn up on Labor’s first day of government in March.

Premier Mark McGowan said the 18 occupations on the list were mainly in the health sector where there was a genuine need, including midwives, psychiatrists and several classes of registered nurses.

Mr McGowan said in the current economic climate it did not make sense to give jobs to migrants ahead of West Australians.

“In the current economic climate, it’s more important than ever that we maximise employment opportunities for Western Australians,” he said.

“Our policy will ensure that, whenever possible, Western Australians will be given first preference on WA jobs. It doesn’t make sense to fast-track workers from overseas when there are unemployed Western Australians who are capable of doing the work.

“Our economy has changed dramatically since the height of the mining boom and we need to do everything we can to get Western Australians back to work.”

Mr McGowan also confirmed the Federal Government agreed to remove Perth as a region from the regional sponsored migration scheme, which provided an additional pathway to obtain a visa to work on WA.