Australia is home to one of the largest temporary migrant workforces in the developed world with the OECD warning that high levels of immigration can hurt low-income communities even as it benefits the broader economy.

In its annual overview of migration trends across the world, the Paris-based thinktank used a special study on temporary migration to highlight the large number of people who have the right to work in countries including Australia and the United States.

Australia has one of the world's largest temporary workforces in the developed world, according to the OECD. Credit:Ryan Stuart

The Morrison government is reducing the permanent migration intake to 160,000 for the next four years while also seeking to direct migrants to regional parts of the country.

But the OECD's report notes that permanent migration is just one part of total immigrant movements.