Study: Quality of employment in the Canadian immigrant labour market - complete report here>>
Two-thirds of university-educated recent immigrants to Canada are underemployed in jobs requiring no more than a college education or apprenticeship, according to a new Statistics Canada report. Looking at Canada's immigrant labour market in 2008, found that immigrant wages were lower while involuntary part-time work and temporary employment were more common than among Canadian-born workers. However, after 10 years in Canada, immigrant employment looks similar to that of their Canadian-born counterparts. In all, more than 1.1 million workers aged 25 to 54 with a university degree were under-employed in jobs requiring a college education or apprenticeship last year, and immigrants are 1.5 times more likely to fall into that category than their Canadian-born counterparts. "It's a confirmation of what we see," says Allison Pond, executive director of ACCES Employment Services in Toronto. "The issues still remain. There's a lack of recognition of foreign-trained credentials and access to the labour market; we still are facing barriers. I see it as something we're continuing to work to change." The job landscape is uneven as Canada emerges from the recession, she says, because they see elevated unemployment in some sectors while others — including IT and finance — are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.
Immigrants overqualified, earn less - Newcomers to Canada tend to see lower wages and higher rates of involuntary part-time work, temporary jobs and over-qualification. Average weekly wages were $23.72 an hour for Canadian-born in the core working age group of 25 to 54 last year, according to Statistics Canada, $2.28 more than that of immigrant workers. The wage gap was larger — about $5 per hour — among those who had arrived within the last five years and between immigrants and Canadian-born workers with university degrees. In 2008, 5.2 per cent of both immigrant and Canadian-born workers were holding down more than one job, but moonlighting immigrants worked 50.0 hours per week on average, 2.3 hours more than their Canadian-born counterparts. The gap was particularly noticeable for those who had been in Canada for 10 years or more, according to Statistics Canada. Among immigrants who arrived in Canada within the last five years, the proportion who worked in temporary jobs was 16 per cent, double that of their Canadian-born counterparts. However, among those who had been in Canada at least a decade, the number of those working temporary jobs was lower than among Canadian-born workers. Given below are some salient features of the study.
View: The study comes as many immigrants have suffered job losses in this recession. Newcomers who arrived in Canada in the past five years saw employment plummet at more than five times the rate of Canadian-born workers, partly because many work in factories, Statscan said earlier this month. Those who landed more than 10 years ago, however, saw employment gains. The discrepancy in employment quality between immigrants and Canadian-born workers narrows as time passes. However, “various gaps still exist” even after a decade in the country, said the report's author, Statscan senior analyst Jason Gilmore. The study found newcomers tend to log longer hours, but they earn less – about $2.28 an hour less, on average, than Canadian-born workers. A wage gap existed “regardless of when the immigrants landed,” the paper said. It was widest, at $5.04, for immigrants who had landed within the previous five years. The wage gap persists, but narrows to $1.32 among immigrants who have spent more than a decade in Canada.
Who are they?: Employed immigrants aged 25 to 54, especially those who landed in Canada more recently, were younger, more likely to be male, had higher levels of post-secondary education, and were more likely to work for smaller firms, the study said.
Over-qualification: About 42 per cent of immigrant workers had a higher level of education for their job than what was normally required last year, while 28 per cent of Canadian-born workers were similarly over-qualified. “Regardless of period of landing, immigrants had higher shares of over-qualification,” the study said. The share of immigrants with degrees who were over-qualified was 1.5 times higher than their Canadian-born counterparts. Over-qualification was most acute among university-educated immigrants who landed within five years from when the survey was taken. Two-thirds worked in occupations that usually required at most a college education or apprenticeship.
Wages: Wage distribution suggests more immigrants work at minimum-wage jobs. The proportion of immigrants earning less than $10 an hour in 2008 was 1.8 times higher than for Canadian-born workers. At the other end of the spectrum, a lower share of immigrants earned $35 or more an hour than the Canadian born. The gap in wages was also particularly wide among those with university degrees. Immigrants aged 25 to 54 with a university degree earned $25.31 an hour on average last year – about $5 an hour less than their Canadian-born counterparts.
Hours: Newcomers to Canada tend to work 38.3 hours a week while immigrants who landed more than 10 years ago log 38.6 hours – higher than the average 38.1 hours among Canadian-born workers. Immigrants are less likely to work overtime, paid or unpaid.
Involuntary part-time work: Almost four in 10, or 38 per cent, of immigrants worked part time involuntarily, higher than the Canadian-born proportion of 30 per cent. The rate is even higher among immigrant workers who landed within five years, at 41 per cent.
Temp jobs: Nearly one in 10, or 9.7 per cent of immigrants, worked in temporary positions, more than the 8.3 per cent of Canadian-born employees. The rate of temp workers soars to 16 per cent – double the Canadian average – among more recent immigrants, though the share falls below the average once people have been in the country longer than a decade.
Union coverage: Immigrants tend to have less union coverage, regardless of when they landed. The share of Canadian-born employees with union coverage was nearly 1.5 times higher than for immigrants as a whole. About 11.1 per cent of Canadian workers are part of a union versus 7.4 per cent of immigrants.
Occupations: Canadian-born people have a greater tendency to hold management jobs. They're also more likely than immigrants to work in the financial sector, along with trades and transport. Immigrants are more likely to work in manufacturing, natural and applied sciences, and sales.
Similarities: The report highlighted many differences in employment between immigrants and Canadian-born workers. One similarity, however, is the proportion that are multiple-job holders, at about 5 per cent. Other similarities are the numbers that work part-time, get on-the-job training and have flexible work hours.
Two-thirds of university-educated recent immigrants to Canada are underemployed in jobs requiring no more than a college education or apprenticeship, according to a new Statistics Canada report. Looking at Canada's immigrant labour market in 2008, found that immigrant wages were lower while involuntary part-time work and temporary employment were more common than among Canadian-born workers. However, after 10 years in Canada, immigrant employment looks similar to that of their Canadian-born counterparts. In all, more than 1.1 million workers aged 25 to 54 with a university degree were under-employed in jobs requiring a college education or apprenticeship last year, and immigrants are 1.5 times more likely to fall into that category than their Canadian-born counterparts. "It's a confirmation of what we see," says Allison Pond, executive director of ACCES Employment Services in Toronto. "The issues still remain. There's a lack of recognition of foreign-trained credentials and access to the labour market; we still are facing barriers. I see it as something we're continuing to work to change." The job landscape is uneven as Canada emerges from the recession, she says, because they see elevated unemployment in some sectors while others — including IT and finance — are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.
Immigrants overqualified, earn less - Newcomers to Canada tend to see lower wages and higher rates of involuntary part-time work, temporary jobs and over-qualification. Average weekly wages were $23.72 an hour for Canadian-born in the core working age group of 25 to 54 last year, according to Statistics Canada, $2.28 more than that of immigrant workers. The wage gap was larger — about $5 per hour — among those who had arrived within the last five years and between immigrants and Canadian-born workers with university degrees. In 2008, 5.2 per cent of both immigrant and Canadian-born workers were holding down more than one job, but moonlighting immigrants worked 50.0 hours per week on average, 2.3 hours more than their Canadian-born counterparts. The gap was particularly noticeable for those who had been in Canada for 10 years or more, according to Statistics Canada. Among immigrants who arrived in Canada within the last five years, the proportion who worked in temporary jobs was 16 per cent, double that of their Canadian-born counterparts. However, among those who had been in Canada at least a decade, the number of those working temporary jobs was lower than among Canadian-born workers. Given below are some salient features of the study.
View: The study comes as many immigrants have suffered job losses in this recession. Newcomers who arrived in Canada in the past five years saw employment plummet at more than five times the rate of Canadian-born workers, partly because many work in factories, Statscan said earlier this month. Those who landed more than 10 years ago, however, saw employment gains. The discrepancy in employment quality between immigrants and Canadian-born workers narrows as time passes. However, “various gaps still exist” even after a decade in the country, said the report's author, Statscan senior analyst Jason Gilmore. The study found newcomers tend to log longer hours, but they earn less – about $2.28 an hour less, on average, than Canadian-born workers. A wage gap existed “regardless of when the immigrants landed,” the paper said. It was widest, at $5.04, for immigrants who had landed within the previous five years. The wage gap persists, but narrows to $1.32 among immigrants who have spent more than a decade in Canada.
Who are they?: Employed immigrants aged 25 to 54, especially those who landed in Canada more recently, were younger, more likely to be male, had higher levels of post-secondary education, and were more likely to work for smaller firms, the study said.
Over-qualification: About 42 per cent of immigrant workers had a higher level of education for their job than what was normally required last year, while 28 per cent of Canadian-born workers were similarly over-qualified. “Regardless of period of landing, immigrants had higher shares of over-qualification,” the study said. The share of immigrants with degrees who were over-qualified was 1.5 times higher than their Canadian-born counterparts. Over-qualification was most acute among university-educated immigrants who landed within five years from when the survey was taken. Two-thirds worked in occupations that usually required at most a college education or apprenticeship.
Wages: Wage distribution suggests more immigrants work at minimum-wage jobs. The proportion of immigrants earning less than $10 an hour in 2008 was 1.8 times higher than for Canadian-born workers. At the other end of the spectrum, a lower share of immigrants earned $35 or more an hour than the Canadian born. The gap in wages was also particularly wide among those with university degrees. Immigrants aged 25 to 54 with a university degree earned $25.31 an hour on average last year – about $5 an hour less than their Canadian-born counterparts.
Hours: Newcomers to Canada tend to work 38.3 hours a week while immigrants who landed more than 10 years ago log 38.6 hours – higher than the average 38.1 hours among Canadian-born workers. Immigrants are less likely to work overtime, paid or unpaid.
Involuntary part-time work: Almost four in 10, or 38 per cent, of immigrants worked part time involuntarily, higher than the Canadian-born proportion of 30 per cent. The rate is even higher among immigrant workers who landed within five years, at 41 per cent.
Temp jobs: Nearly one in 10, or 9.7 per cent of immigrants, worked in temporary positions, more than the 8.3 per cent of Canadian-born employees. The rate of temp workers soars to 16 per cent – double the Canadian average – among more recent immigrants, though the share falls below the average once people have been in the country longer than a decade.
Union coverage: Immigrants tend to have less union coverage, regardless of when they landed. The share of Canadian-born employees with union coverage was nearly 1.5 times higher than for immigrants as a whole. About 11.1 per cent of Canadian workers are part of a union versus 7.4 per cent of immigrants.
Occupations: Canadian-born people have a greater tendency to hold management jobs. They're also more likely than immigrants to work in the financial sector, along with trades and transport. Immigrants are more likely to work in manufacturing, natural and applied sciences, and sales.
Similarities: The report highlighted many differences in employment between immigrants and Canadian-born workers. One similarity, however, is the proportion that are multiple-job holders, at about 5 per cent. Other similarities are the numbers that work part-time, get on-the-job training and have flexible work hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment