Employment rates, by sex and immigrant status

Employment rates among women recently entering Canada are lower than a decade earlier

• In both 1991 and 2001, the difference in employment rates between recent female immigrants and Canadian-born women aged 25 to 54 was greater than that of their male counterparts. Moreover, the employment rate gap between these women was actually much greater in 2001 than 10 years earlier (21 versus 11 percentage points). Among men, the gap remained stable during this period (around 10 points).
• There are several classes of Canadian immigrants. Immigrant men fare better than immigrant women in the labour market, partly because of their circumstances in coming to Canada. Men are more likely than women to be admitted as economic class principal applicants. People in this category are expected to be able to find work and contribute to the economy once they've settled in their new homeland. In contrast, female immigrants are more likely to come to Canada on the basis of a family class application (i.e., by virtue of being related to an economic-class immigrant) or for reasons of family reunification.
• The gap between the employment rates of recent immigrant men and women and their native-born counterparts also varies by CMA of residence. In 2001, of the five largest CMAs, the disparity was widest in Montréal (26 percentage points) and narrowest in Calgary (12 points).

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