Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Saskatoon—A Comparative Profile Based on the 2001 Census

Part E: Income

Sources and level of income

Sources of income vary by time in Canada

Seventy percent of Canadian-born women and 80% of Canadian-born men have earnings from employment in the year 2000. A slightly smaller share of recent immigrants than of the Canadian-born has income from employment. For immigrants who landed before 1986, the proportion with earnings is lower because they tend to be older and many are retired. The relatively low share of very recent immigrants with employment income reflects lower participation in the workforce. The share of persons with employment income was higher in year 2000 than in 1995, except for immigrant men who had landed in Canada during the 1986-1995 period. The largest increase was 11 percentage points for very recent immigrant women, while other groups reported small changes.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. A person may have income from one, two or all three sources. The three sources are defined in the Glossary.

The proportion of recent immigrant women with no income is higher than that of the Canadian-born. The proportion of immigrant women who do not have income decreases significantly with length of stay in Canada, and ultimately falls below that of the Canadian-born. Absence of income among women was less common in 2000 than in 1995, as the incidence of zero income dropped by 6 percentage points for recent immigrant cohorts. Among men there was little change in the share with zero income in year 2000 in comparison to 1995.

The share of recent immigrants with other private income—for example, income from investments or pension plans—is well below the share of the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants with other private income. These shares did not show much change in comparison to 1995.

The incidence of government transfer payment income is slightly higher among immigrants than among the Canadian-born, except for men who immigrated during the 1986-1995 period. The incidence of transfer payment income has shifted markedly from men to women since 1995 in part due to the fact that in 2000, child benefit payments were made to the mother.

Average income comparable for 1996-2001 and 1986-1995 immigrants

The average income of recent immigrants in the year 2000 was lower than that of the Canadian-born, considering only persons who reported income. For recent immigrant men and women, average income was about three-quarters of that of the Canadian-born. The average income of earlier immigrants who landed before 1986 was about 15% higher than that of the Canadian-born.

The average income of women is about 60% of that of men. Among the reasons for the difference in income between men and women are lower labour force participation and higher incidence of part-time work and of jobs requiring a lower level of skill among women than among men, as shown in Part D. Compared to 1995, average incomes increased by about 16% in year 2000. However, the average income of very recent immigrants increased by 40% for women and 20% for men.

Earnings from employment account for the bulk of income of all groups and make up a larger proportion of the income of recent immigrants than of persons born in Canada. In 2000, the employment share of income remained much the same as in 1995, except for an increase of 6 percentage points for very recent immigrant men.

The share of other private income is lower for recent immigrants than for the Canadian-born, especially for men. Government transfer payments make up a larger share of the income of immigrant women than Canadian-born women.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

Earnings of recent immigrants who worked mostly full-time lower

The average wages and salaries earned by recent immigrants who worked mostly full-time in 2000 are well below the Saskatoon average. By contrast, earlier immigrants had substantially higher average wages and salaries than the Canadian-born.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

The relative level of wages and salaries of very recent immigrants in Saskatoon, at 82% of the average, was higher in 2000 than in 1995 by 10 percentage points. Immigrants who landed in Canada during the 1986-1995 period saw their relative earnings decline from near-parity to 83%.

Transfer payments a larger share of income of households of non-seniors

In the year 2000, a large majority of households received government transfer payments. Recent immigrant households were slightly more likely to receive government transfer payments than other households. On average, the payments received were somewhat lower in dollar terms but about the same relative to income.

Transfer payments vary considerably with the age of the oldest person in the household, and so do differences between recent immigrant, earlier immigrant and Canadian-born households. When considered by age group, recent immigrant households are seen to receive a larger amount in transfer payments than Canadian-born households in all age groups.

Transfer payments to households without seniors generally reflect benefits of Employment Insurance, Workers Compensation, social assistance, student assistance, or other programs. Included in these transfer payments are tax credits such as the Canada Child Benefit and GST tax credits and provincial tax credits. The somewhat greater incidence and amounts of transfer payments for recent immigrant households of persons 25 to 64 years of age in relation to earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born may have to do with the larger average number of children in families and with differences in labour market participation and unemployment reviewed in Part D.

Almost all households with persons 65 years of age and over received government transfer payments—Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and Canada or Quebec Pension Plan Benefits. Recent immigrant households of seniors received a smaller amount. Seniors who immigrated very recently are not entitled to Old Age Security and have not built up large credits under the Canada or Quebec Pension Plan.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

The distribution of income

Large differences between all groups

Of very recent immigrants, one-half of women and almost one-third of men reported no income or income of less than $10,000 in 2000. Among the Canadian-born, approximately 30% women and just over 20% of men had no or very low income.

At the high end of the income scale, recent immigrants are underrepresented. Their share in the upper income group of $50,000 and over is less than one-half of that of the Canadian-born. By contrast, the share of earlier immigrants with incomes of $50,000 and over is larger than that of the Canadian-born.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

Average household income similar

In 2000, recent immigrant households in Saskatoon had average income of $51,200, marginally less than the average income of Saskatoon’s Canadian-born households. The income of households consisting only of very recent immigrants was three-quarters of that of the households of the Canadian-born. By contrast, earlier immigrant households had higher average income than households of the Canadian-born—one-quarter of these households had incomes of $80,000 or more.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents non shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.

Approximately 40% of households consisting only of very recent immigrants had income of less than $20,000, in spite of their large size. Twenty-one percent of Canadian-born households were in this lowest income range.

Households that combine very recent immigrants with other persons had rather high incomes on average. This may be influenced by the larger size of these households and the fact that other members of the household have lived in Canada for more than five years and are more likely to participate in the labour market.

Low income twice as common among very recent immigrants

Recent immigrants are more likely than earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born to live in families with incomes below the overall median family income, or if they do not live in families, to have income below the median for unattached individuals. They are also more likely to live in families with incomes below one-half of the median income—that is, to have low income. The percentage of immigrants with income in the bottom half or quarter of the income distribution declines in relation to the immigrant cohort’s length of stay in Canada. The incidence of incomes below the median level of income and of low income in 2000 changed little from five years earlier, for all groups.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. For a definition of median income and details about the calculations, see the Glossary.

The proportion of individuals with income below the median varies with age and to a lesser extent gender. In all age and gender groups, the proportion of persons with income below the overall median is much higher among recent immigrants than among the Canadian-born.

One-third of very recent immigrants who landed between 1996 and 1999 have low incomes or live in low-income families. Very recent immigrants are twice as likely to live in this type of situation as the Canadian-born. For all age groups, the incidence of low incomes is much greater among recent immigrants than among the Canadian-born.

Figure E-1: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—percentage with family or individual income below the median and below one-half of the median, Saskatoon Census Metropolitan Area, 2000

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all figures in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. For a definition of median income and details about the calculations, see the Glossary.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. For a definition of median income and details about the calculations, see the Glossary.

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