Data source, concepts and definitions
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This report uses data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a monthly household survey. The LFS data series on immigrants began in January 2006, when a number of questions were added to provide timely information on the labour market for immigrants.
The findings in this report are based on annual averages for the years 2008 to 2011. Immigrants' labour force data for 2006 and 2007 were examined in previous reports. (See notes 3 and 4 in Introduction)
The concept of "labour market outcomes" can cover various aspects such as wages and earnings, occupation, employment or unemployment status, participation in the labour market, hours of work, and temporary or permanent status. Earnings, in particular, are considered an important dimension of labour market outcomes. In this report, the term 'labour market outcomes' generally refers to rates of employment and unemployment, while also including a brief analysis of earnings.
Core working-age is defined as age 25 to 54 for labour-market analysis purposes, as individuals in this age group are more likely to have completed school and be available for full-time work than those aged 15 to 24, and less likely to have entered retirement than those 55 and older. The core-aged population is the main focus of analysis in this report, unless stated otherwise.
Three groups of immigrants are identified based on how long they had been in Canada as landed immigrants prior to being interviewed by the LFS. These groups are: landed immigrants who had been in Canada for 5 years or less ("very recent" immigrants), those who had been landed immigrants for more than 5 to 10 years ("recent" immigrants), and those who had been landed immigrants for more than 10 years ("established" immigrants).
Note: In this report, very recent immigrants, recent immigrants, established immigrants are used as equivalents to immigrants landed 5 years or less earlier, immigrants landed more than 5 to 10 years earlier, immigrants landed more than 10 years earlier, for brevity and readability.
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