Most immigrants had worked and many found jobs soon after arrival

For many newcomers, obtaining employment is a key facet of establishing a new life in Canada. Though the process can take some time, 80% of immigrants aged 25 to 44 had worked in at least one job during their first two years in Canada.

Most principal applicants in the skilled worker category (skilled worker PAs — 90%) found employment during this initial two-year period, while this was the case for 78% of immigrants in the family category and 62% of refugees.

Many immigrants found work quite soon after arrival. Of all those who found employment in Canada, 70% started their first job within six months of arrival, 15% did so 7 to 12 months after arrival and 15% did so more than one year after arrival.

Similarly, most skilled worker PAs found employment early on in the settlement process. Of those who found employment, 75% did so within six months of arrival, while 14% did so 7 to 12 months after arrival and 11% did so after one year.

Chart 1
Immigrants aged 25 to 44: Proportion who had any employment, by weeks since landing, for selected immigration categories

Many new immigrants worked throughout their first two years in Canada

Not only had many new immigrants found employment quite soon after arrival, a considerable share had sustained employment throughout their first two years in Canada.

Of the 8 in 10 that had any employment during this period, 58% worked for 18 months or more. Another 17% were employed for approximately 13 to 17 months, while the remaining 25% were employed for 12 months or less.

Sustained employment was most prevalent among principal applicants in the skilled worker category. Of those with employment, 64% worked for 18 months or more, 16% worked for 13 to 17 months, and 20% worked for 12 months or less. 

Among immigrants in the family category who had employment, 59% worked for 18 months or more while 24% worked for 12 months or less. And among refugees with employment, 39% worked for 18 months or more while 37% worked for 12 months or less.

Employment rates moved towards the national average

The gains that immigrants aged 25 to 44 made in the labour market during their first two years in Canada can be gauged by comparing their employment rates at certain points to those of all Canadians in the same age group.

At 26 weeks after arrival, 50% of immigrants aged 25 to 44 were employed. This was 30 percentage points lower than the employment rate among all persons aged 25 to 44 in Canada over the same period of time (80%). This gap is not surprising given that immigrants had a limited amount of time to get established in the labour force and many settlement activities to deal with.

At 52 weeks after arrival, the employment rate among prime working-age immigrants was 58% — 23 percentage points lower than the national rate among this age group over the same period (at 81%). At 104 weeks after arrival, the employment rate among prime working-age immigrants was 63%, 18 percentage points lower than the national rate over the same period (at 81%).

Overall, the employment rate of prime working-age immigrants moved towards the national average as they resided in Canada for a longer period of time.

Considering skilled worker PAs in the 25 to 44 age group, the difference between their employment rate and the national average narrowed from 20 percentage points 26 weeks after arrival, to 12 percentage points 52 weeks after arrival, to 8 percentage points 104 weeks after arrival.

Among all prime working-age persons, employment rates are highest among those who have a university degree. In this context, it should be noted that the vast majority (87%) of skilled worker PAs aged 25 to 44 have a university degree, compared with 25% of all Canadians in that age group, as reported by the Labour Force Survey.

Most immigrants followed through on their intention to work in Canada

Six months after immigrants’ arrival in Canada, an estimated 100,100 prime working age immigrants (94%) intended to work. Of those who expressed this intention, 83% found employment during their first two years in the country. Of those who did not intend to work, 44% took employment during this period.

Half of immigrants held only one job during their first two years in Canada

Of the 85,600 prime working-age immigrants who had employment during their first two years in Canada, one-half (42,900) held only one job. Of these single job holders, 59% (25,200) had held that job for more than one year and were still working in that job at the end of the two year period. Most men (89%) and women (72%) who held only one job worked full-time in that position.

The other 42,700 prime working-age immigrants with employment held more than one job during their first two years in Canada. Most held two jobs (26,700), while fewer had three jobs (10,700) or four or more jobs (5,200). ¹

Of the skilled worker principal applicants who had any employment, 52% held two or more jobs. This was the case for 54% of immigrants in the family category and 40% of refugees who had employment.

For some immigrants, a change from one job to another involved a transition from part-time to full-time employment. Of the 42,700 immigrants with two or more jobs, 7,700 (18%) worked part-time in their first job but full-time in their most recent job. For this group, part-time work may have been a stepping stone towards greater labour market integration. Very few individuals moved in the opposite direction, as only 2,700 (6%) moved from full-time hours in their first job to part-time hours in their most recent job.  Finally, 29,300 (69%) worked full-time in both their first and most recent jobs, while 3,000 (7%) worked part-time in both jobs.

Job changes also involved occupational mobility in many cases. Of the 42,700 immigrants with two or more jobs, 14,300 were employed in a sales or service occupation in their first job. Three in ten of these immigrants (30%) were subsequently employed in other occupations typically characterized by higher skill requirements, specifically, natural and applied science and related occupations, occupations in health, and occupations in business, finance and administration.

Some modest gains in finding employment in intended occupations

As noted at the outset, most prime working-age immigrants (80%) were successful in finding employment of some sort during their first two years in Canada.

Of those who found employment, about four in ten (42%) found a job in their intended occupation. One-third (33%) did so during their first year in Canada, while another 9% did so during their second year. The remaining 58% did not find employment in their intended occupation.

Among skilled worker PAs who were aged 25 to 44, the vast majority (90%) found employment during their first two years in Canada. Of those with employment, just under half (48%) found a job in their intended occupation. Four in ten (40%) did so during their first year in Canada, while another 8% did so during their second year. The remaining 52% found a job, but not in their intended occupation.

Of the approximately 45,000 skilled worker principal applicants who found employment in Canada, almost half (47%) had intended to find work in natural and applied sciences and related occupations. About half (49%) of this group actually did so by the end of the two year period.

Chart 2
Employed Immigrants aged 25 to 44: Proportion who had employment in intended occupation, by weeks since landing, for selected immigration categories

One-fifth of immigrants had not worked at all since arriving in Canada

One-fifth (20%) of prime working-age immigrants had not had any employment after two years in Canada. In absolute terms, this represented approximately 21,000 individuals. The majority of these individuals were women (74%), many of whom were spouses or dependents of immigrants in the economic category or immigrants in the family category.

One in ten skilled worker PAs (10%) had not taken employment by the end of their second year. Many of these individuals were enrolled in education or training programs (56%) or trying to enter the workforce by looking for work or by starting a business (20%).

Considering other immigrant categories, 22% of immigrants in the family category and 38% of refugees had not worked during their first two years in Canada. Of immigrants in the family category who had not had employment, 68% were homemakers or providing care to family members and 24% were enrolled in education or training. Of the refugees who had not had employment, 49% were enrolled in education or training and 41% were homemakers or providing care to family members.

Lack of Canadian work experience still critical to immigrants

After six months, the most serious problem prime working-age immigrants faced when trying to find employment was their lack of experience in the Canadian workforce. This was still the most serious problem after two years.

Among the 65,600 prime working-age immigrants who looked for employment 6 to 24 months after landing, 71% (or 46,500) encountered at least one problem. Of these individuals, about one out of four (26%) cited a lack of Canadian work experience as the most serious problem they encountered, while about one-fifth (21%) said the most serious problem was lack of acceptance or recognition of their foreign work experience or qualifications. Language barriers were the most serious problem for 15%, while another 14% cited a shortage of jobs.

Skilled worker PAs who encountered problems most often cited lack of Canadian work experience (26%) or lack of acceptance of their foreign experience or qualifications (23%). Another 16% said there were not enough jobs available and 9% cited language barriers as the most serious problem they faced.

Of the refugees who reported problems finding employment, 28% cited language barriers as the most serious problem they faced while 25% cited lack of Canadian work experience. Among immigrants in the family category, the most serious problems encountered were lack of Canadian work experience (30%), language barriers (15%), not enough jobs available (15%) and lack of recognition of foreign experience and credentials (15%).

Overall, many were satisfied with their job in spite of the challenges

Despite these challenges, the share of newcomers who said they were satisfied with their job increased from 74% six months after landing to 84% two years after landing. Job satisfaction was higher for those who were able to use their training, who worked in their intended occupation or who worked full-time.

Furthermore, newcomers generally had favorable assessments of their first two years in Canada. When asked about their overall experience, 73,900 prime working-age immigrants (70%) said their experience had either met or exceeded their expectations.

Looking ahead – the research potential of the LSIC

This article has laid out some of the employment experiences of newcomers to Canada. However, employment dynamics are complex and individuals have many different experiences over time. Further analysis is needed to understand this complexity. For example, to what extent do improvements in language skills, Canadian training and Canadian work experience translate into employment gains over time? How do the labour market trajectories of immigrant men and women differ, particularly given the responsibilities for homemaking and family care undertaken by immigrant women?

The LSIC also examines topics such as housing, education, foreign credential recognition, income, the development and use of social networks, language skills, health, and values and attitudes.

There is now information on the experiences of immigrants two years after arrival. When the third wave of the LSIC is completed, information will be available to understand the settlement process and progress of immigrants over their first four years in Canada.