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

Part D: Participation in the Economy

Participation in the labour market

Labour force participation lower among very recent immigrants

Very recent immigrants are generally not as active in the labour market as the Canadian-born. The difference in labour force participation between very recent immigrants and the Canadian-born aged 15 to 64 is sixteen percentage points for women and four percentage points for men. Labour force participation of immigrants who have been in Canada for a longer period of time is more like that of the Canadian-born. Men aged 25 to 44 are engaged in the labour force in high proportions shortly after arrival. As well, men who immigrated during the 1986-1995 period participated at higher rates than other men.

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Figure D-1: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—15 to 64 years of age—labour force participation rates, by age and gender, Victoria Census Metropolitan Area, 2001

Note: Figures D-1 and D-2 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed, (actively looking for work).

Pattern of adjustment similar for most levels of education

Generally speaking, the higher the level of education, the greater the proportion of people who participate in the labour market. This observation holds for the Canadian-born as well as for all three cohorts of immigrants, with only a few exceptions.

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

For most education levels there is a pattern of relatively low participation rates for the most recently landed immigrants, and convergence to the rates of the Canadian-born with longer stay. However, there are a few examples where immigrants who landed six to fifteen years before the census have rates higher than those of earlier immigrants, and in the case of men with post-secondary education, than those of the Canadian-born.

Labour force participation by recent immigrants has changed little overall since 1996.

Figure D-2: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—15 to 64 years of age—labour force participation rates, by level of education and gender, Victoria Census Metropolitan Area, 2001

Note: Figures D-1 and D-2 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed, (actively looking for work).

Unemployment not uncommon during initial years

Immigrants who are in their initial years in Canada are somewhat more likely to experience unemployment than those who have been in the country for a longer period of time. For instance, recent immigrant women in Victoria experienced unemployment rates from 8% to 20%, depending on their age group, and men experienced unemployment rates of 7% to 22%, depending on their age group. Unemployment is significantly lower among persons who immigrated before 1986, comparable to that of the Canadian-born.

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

The unemployment rate has remained the same or declined by a few percentage points since 1996 for all three cohorts of immigrants and the Canadian-born, although for young recent immigrant men the decline was greater.

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

For the Canadian-born, the unemployment rate varies inversely with the level of education. For immigrants there is no such pattern.

Unemployment rates are generally lower for immigrant cohorts who have been in the country for a longer period of time. For instance, men who immigrated after 1985 and who have a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 11%. The rate drops to 4% for immigrants who landed before 1986.

In 2001, the unemployment rate was slightly lower than in 1996 for most groups.

Share of men and women with jobs increases with length of stay

Seven in ten Canadian-born women aged 15 to 64 are employed, compared to one-half of very recent immigrant women who are employed. For men the difference is smaller: three in four Canadian-born men and two in three very recent immigrant men are employed. As shown in the previous pages, these differences in employment rates reflect mainly differences in labour force participation rates.

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Note: Tables D-1 to D-10 describe labour force participation, employment and unemployment in the week before the 2001 Census, May 6-12, 2001. A person is in the labour force if he/she is employed or unemployed (actively looking for work).

Among immigrants who landed before 1986, employment is generally more common than among the more recently landed. Immigrants who have lived in the country for 15 years or more have unemployment rates generally comparable to the Canadian-born. Immigrant men aged 25 to 64 who landed in 1986-1995 have employment levels higher than the Canadian-born.

In 2001, employment was significantly lower than in 1995 among very recent immigrants, while it was significantly higher among immigrants who landed five to fifteen years before the census. This is in contrast to most other cities in Canada, where a larger share of very recent immigrants was employed in 2001 than in 1996.

The jobs of recent immigrants

Part-time jobs more common for very recent immigrants aged 25 to 64

The proportion of employed persons who work part-time varies considerably by age and gender, both for immigrants and the Canadian-born. More than half of employed young adults work part-time. Less than one-third of employed women aged 25 to 64 work part-time, while for men, not including very recent immigrants, the share is just over one in ten.

Note: Tables D-11 and D-12 do not include immigrants who landed in 2000 or 2001. Only persons who landed before 2000 are included among immigrants and very recent immigrants. Part-time employment is defined as having worked less than 30 hours per week during most of the weeks worked in the year 2000.

Note: Tables D-11 and D-12 do not include immigrants who landed in 2000 or 2001. Only persons who landed before 2000 are included among immigrants and very recent immigrants. Part-time employment is defined as having worked less than 30 hours per week during most of the weeks worked in the year 2000.

Part-time employment is more common for very recent immigrant men who are over 24 years of age than for other men except those aged 15 to 24. For very recent immigrant women the situation is different, with part-time employment levels comparable to those of previous immigrants and the Canadian-born.

The prevalence of part-time employment was lower in 2000 than in 1995 for very recent immigrant women by four to eighteen percentage points. By contrast, very recent immigrant men have seen a rise in part-time work in the order of three to fourteen percentage points.

Many recent immigrants in sales and service occupations

Employed immigrants are more likely than their Canadian-born counterparts to work in sales and services occupations. One-third of employed very recent immigrants work in sales and service jobs, compared to two in ten of the Canadian-born. The difference between immigrants and the Canadian-born is greater for women than for men. Recent immigrants are less frequently employed than the Canadian-born in administrative occupations, in the case of women, and in trades and transport occupations, in the case of men. However, immigrants who have been in the country 15 years or more are more likely to work in high skill occupations such as management and social occupations than the Canadian-born.

The distribution of occupations of very recent immigrants is quite similar to that of earlier cohorts, with two exceptions: a higher share of very recent immigrant men work in the health and science field and a lower share work in sales and services occupations. This is something specific to the latest cohort, as five years earlier the share of jobs in health occupations was lower among the male very recent immigrant cohort.

Note: Job characteristics presented in Tables D-13 to D-16 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

Figure D-3: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—employed 25 to 64 years of age—occupation groups, by gender, Victoria Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage distribution)

Note: Job characteristics presented in Figures D-3 to D-6 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

Many recent immigrants in hospitality and other services, few in public sector

In Victoria, relative to the Canadian-born, a large proportion of employed recent immigrants aged 25 to 64 work in hospitality and other services industries and, for men, in business services industries. The Canadian-born are more likely than recent immigrants to work in construction and transportation industries and in the public sector.

Compared to 1996, very recent immigrant men hold more jobs in business services industries, and fewer jobs in the public sector and hospitality and other services industries.

Note: Job characteristics presented in Tables D-13 to D-16 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

Figure D-4: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—employed 25 to 64 years of age—industry sector, by gender, Victoria Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage distribution)

Note: Job characteristics presented in Figures D-3 to D-6 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

Skill requirements of jobs of recent immigrants somewhat lower

The jobs of recent immigrant men require about the same level of skill as the jobs of the Canadian-born, but recent immigrant women have jobs with somewhat lower skill levels. One in three jobs of Canadian-born women requires the highest level of skill, a university education. One-quarter of the jobs of very recent immigrant women require a university education. The share of jobs with the lowest level of skill is twice as high among recent immigrants as among the Canadian-born.

Note: Job characteristics presented in Tables D-13 to D-16 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

The information presented in Table D-15 does not directly indicate whether the skills of recent immigrants are fully or less than fully employed in the economy. To determine this, one has to compare the skill levels of jobs of recent immigrants with the level of education of employed recent immigrants. This is done in Table D-16 for persons holding a university degree.

Figure D-5: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—employed 25 to 64 years of age—skill requirements of jobs by gender, Victoria Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage distribution)

Note: Job characteristics presented in Figures D-3 to D-6 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

Education of recent immigrant women not fully utilized

The jobs of very recent immigrants with a university degree do not require the same level of skill as the jobs of the Canadian-born persons with a university degree. Almost two-thirds of employed Canadian-born women with a university degree have a job requiring a university degree, but only 40% employed women with university degrees who immigrated after 1995 has a job that requires a university degree. Almost three-quarters of Canadian-born men with a university degree but only two-thirds of very recent immigrant men have a job requiring a university education.

Nearly half of very recent immigrant women with a university degree work in jobs requiring only a high school education or less. This is more than twice as large a share as the share of any other group.

Note: Job characteristics presented in Tables D-13 to D-16 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

Figure D-6: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—25 to 64 years of age—percentage of employed university graduates with jobs requiring university education, by gender, Victoria Census Metropolitan Area, 2001

Note: Job characteristics presented in Figures D-3 to D-6 relate to jobs held at the time of the census or the job of longest duration from January 2000 to May 15, 2001. The information pertains to persons 25 to 64 years of age. Younger people are not included here since many of them are still in school, and their jobs tend to be short-term and part-time and less likely to be related to their education and career choices than the jobs of older adults. Occupation groups are defined in the Glossary.

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