New immigrants to Canada have the most difficulty integrating into the labour market, despite being more likely than Canadian-born workers to have a university education, says a .
According to new data from the Labour Force Survey, released by Statistics Canada, immigrants who landed between 2001 and 2006 had a national unemployment rate of 11.5 per cent.
The figure was more than double the 4.9 per cent rate held by those born in Canada.
For immigrants who landed between 1996 and 2001, the situation improved with the group holding an unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent.
Established immigrants, in the country for more than 10 years, had labour market outcomes in 2006 that closely resembled those of Canadian-born workers.
The report focused specifically on immigrant workers aged 25 to 54 and their Canadian-born counterparts.
University education
Thirty-six per cent of immigrants in the identified age group had at least a bachelor's degree. Only 22 per cent of the same Canadian-born group had at least a bachelor's degree.
In 2006, the unemployment rate for recent immigrants with bachelor's degrees was 11.4 per cent. That figure was four times the rate of 2.9 per cent for Canadian-born workers with the same qualifications.
Immigrant women also had more difficulty than landed men in the workforce.
Further, immigrants were more likely to be found working in manufacturing industries and in professional, scientific and technical services.
Immigrants were also more likely to be employed in accommodation and food service industries.
The report indicates that many newcomers may need time to adjust to the workforce and the new life in Canada.
By 2030, population projections show that net immigration may become the only source of population growth. By 2011, net immigration could account for virtually all net labour force growth, says the report.
The data also supports previous reports that have exposed the difficult barriers that newly landed immigrants face after arriving in Canada.
The biggest problems include a lack of recognition of foreign credentials and language barriers.
