The positive trend is particularly evident among the 25-to-54 age group, highlighting the growing success of immigrants in the Canadian labor market.
The positive trend is particularly evident among the 25-to-54 age group, highlighting the growing success of immigrants in the Canadian labor market.
The employment landscape for core working-age immigrants in Canada witnessed a surge last year, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.
The positive trend is particularly evident among the 25 to 54 age group, highlighting the growing success of immigrants in the Canadian labor market, CIC News reported.
Core working-age immigrants
In 2023, core working-age immigrants experienced a surge in employment rates correlated with the number of years since their arrival. Specifically, for the 25-to-54 age group, the employment rates reached their highest at 84.5 percent for immigrants who landed “more than 10 years earlier,” followed by those landing “five to 10 years earlier” at 81.9 percent, and immigrants who landed in the last “five or fewer years” at 77.8 percent.
Although the overall employment rate for landed immigrants in 2023 was 82.6 percent, approximately four percent lower than the Canadian-born core working-age population at 86.3 percent, the overall positive trajectory is evident.
Compared to 2019, the employment rate for immigrants who arrived in Canada between five to 10 years ago dropped to 74.4 percent in 2020 but gradually increased to its 2023 level.
For immigrants in Canada for over 10 years, the employment rate reached 83.2 percent in the pre-pandemic years, dropped to 77.9 percent in 2020, and has since steadily risen.
Immigrants who landed in Canada five or fewer years ago had an employment rate of 71.1 percent in 2019. Despite a rebound from 69.3 percent in 2020, this subgroup saw a slight decrease in their employment rate from 2022 (78 percent) to 2023 (77.8 percent).
The trend continues in the unemployment rates of core working-age immigrants for 2023. Immigrants who landed five or fewer years earlier had an unemployment rate of eight percent, those who landed between five to 10 years earlier had a rate of 5.2 percent, and those who landed over 10 years earlier had a rate of 4.7 percent. After a peak in 2020, all three groups experienced a declining unemployment rate in 2021 but an increase in the last two years.
In 2023, the labor force participation rate was highest among longest-tenured immigrants: 84.6 percent for those who landed five or fewer years earlier, 86.3 percent for those who landed between five to 10 years earlier, and 88.7 percent for those who landed over 10 years earlier. For the Canadian-born core working-age population, the participation rate was 89.9 percent.
In terms of full-time employment in 2023, immigrants who landed 5 or fewer years earlier had 647.1 thousand, those who landed between 5 to 10 years earlier had 676.4 thousand, and those who landed over 10 years earlier had 2031.4 thousand.
For part-time employment, immigrants who landed in Canada five or fewer years ago saw an increase from 73.1 thousand in 2022 to 75.8 thousand in 2023. Similarly, immigrants who landed in Canada at least 10 years ago experienced an increase from 249.3 thousand in 2022 to 252.7 thousand in 2023. Conversely, immigrants who landed in Canada between five and 10 years ago saw a decline in part-time employment, from 88.1 thousand in 2022 to 76.1 thousand in 2023.
‘A nation of immigrants’
According to Jack Jedwab, CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies, Canada is rapidly evolving into a nation predominantly shaped by immigration, propelling substantial population growth and reshaping religious identities.
“I think we’re increasingly becoming a country of immigrants,” Jedwab reportedly told the National Post.
“In terms of identity dimensions, we’re seeing changes across the board in terms of patterns of religious identification, less so ethnicity, but more multiple identity,” he added.
A recent poll conducted by Leger for ACS predicted that Canada’s population will double in the next 30+ years, with nearly half identifying as racialized or visible minorities.
The Leger poll indicated a significant shift in religious affiliations, with Christianity losing its majority status from 77 percent in 2001 to 53 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, the percentage of Canadians reporting no religion has surged from 16.5 percent to 34.6 percent in 2021.
In the third quarter of 2023, temporary foreign workers, international students, and new permanent residents led to the fastest quarterly population growth since 1957. Canada’s population reached 40,528,396 on Oct. 1, 2023, with 96 percent of the growth attributed to immigration.
Unprecedented population growth
In mid-December, Statistics Canada’s report on “Record-High Population Growth” confirmed that Canada welcomed 107,972 new permanent residents in the third quarter, as reported by Immigration.ca.
The data revealed that from January to September 2023, immigration reached 79.8 percent, accounting for 371,299 new permanent residents towards the annual target of 465,000 immigrants set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
During the period from July 1 to Oct. 1, 2023 the country witnessed a rise in non-permanent residents, with the total non-permanent resident population increasing from 2,198,679 to 2,511,437. This included a surge of 312,758 temporary residents in the third quarter alone, marking the highest quarterly increase since data on non-permanent residents became available in 1971.
The surge in temporary residents was mainly attributed to a rise in the number of work and study permit holders, with a lesser increase in the number of refugee claimants.
