Sydney - It will be even harder to resettle in Australia now the country has followed much of the developed world into recession, news reports said Saturday.

For the second time in as many months, the government is expected to cut its projected immigrant intake to protect the jobs of locals.

Another 7,000 places on the skilled migration programme - 18,500 places were axed last month - are expected to be lost when the government unveils its budget on Tuesday.

The combined toll of the cuts will bring this year's intake to 108,000 - 20 per cent down on last year's quota.

"We don't want people coming in who are going to compete with Australians for limited jobs," Immigration Minister Chris Evans said when announcing the last cull.

Unemployment, which two years ago was at a 30-year low of 5 per cent, is expected to approach 10 per cent by the end of next year.