UK employers that recruit workers from outside the European Economic Area will have to prove that the job could not have been filled from the "resident labour market" under a new points-based system being introduced this autumn.
Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, said: "Our new points system means that British jobseekers get the first crack of the whip and that only the skilled migrants we actually need will be able to come."
The CBI, the employers' organisation, welcomed the Labour party proposals.
It said: "Migrants play an important role in helping UK firms fill skilled jobs where they would otherwise struggle to find staff. The work permit system must be flexible enough to respond to the changing needs of firms and today's rules should help deliver this."
David Frost, the directorgeneral of the British Chambers of Commerce, accused the Labour and Conservative parties of trying to outbid each other to persuade voters that they were tough on immigration. Both parties want to place an annual cap on the number of migrants allowed into Britain.
Mr Frost said: "The fight for global talent means we must not shut our borders to those who can help our economy diversify and grow. Setting arbitrary quotas to try and fit British-born workers into jobs is not the way to manage migration."
He added that the points system would have only a limited impact on immigration because the vast majority of migrant workers from east and central European countries have had the right to work in the UK since their countries joined the European Union in 2004.
"What we need to ensure is that British workers have the skills they need, rather than creating a false environment that ignores the reality of a global economy," said Mr Frost.
Under the new rules, employers wanting to recruit skilled migrant workers from outside the EEA (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) will require a licence from the UK Border Agency.
Employers that fail to carry out adequate checks risk losing their licence and could be fined up to £10,000 ($19,750, €12,700) for each worker found to have broken the rules.
To qualify, migrant workers will have "to demonstrate English language competence", have a job offer and have enough money, about £800, to be able "to support themselves for the first month they are here", said Mr Byrne.
Jobs to be classed as "shortage occupations" will be decided by a new migration advisory committee headed by David Metcalf, professor of industrial relations at the London School of Economics.
Jobs not included on the shortage list will have to have been advertised for at least two weeks to show that they could not be filled from the resident labour market. Migrants seeking those jobs will be required to earn points based on their qualifications and prospective earnings, explained Mr Byrne.
The first phase of the points systems came into force earlier this year for highly skilled workers already in Britain.
