The immigrants that have come to Canada in the past five to ten years have 1.5 times the unemployment rate as those born in Canada, reveals a Maclean’s article. Many newcomers have to do jobs that they are overqualified for. In fact, as immigrants, my own parent has had the struggle of finding jobs they are suited for. My mom has a master’s degree and my dad has a Ph.D. yet, they are having to do “survival jobs” to make a living. I know many immigrants in my community that have reputable qualifications yet are having difficulty finding a job.
Yes, I agree that unemployment is an issue for all. The Canadian job market has not been doing so well. But the hardships immigrants have to go through is a lot different than what native-born Canadians have to go through.
If you have not already heard about Canada’s “point system”, it is a system that is designed to bring people with skills and qualifications into the country. The ultimate goal was to bring economic success but in the recent years, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. There is a big wage gap between immigrants with degrees and native-borns with degrees. “Canada is also one of the worst at matching immigrants’ education to their jobs, ahead of only Estonia, Italy, Spain and Greece. Just 60 percent of highly skilled Canadian immigrants were working in the jobs that require highly skilled worker, compared to an OECD average of 71 percent.” states an article “Why the world’s best and brightest struggle to find jobs in Canada”
As of 2017, according to Statistics Canada, immigrants who have landed in Canada and have a post-secondary certificate or diploma (age 25 to 54) have an unemployment rate of 6.4% compared to 5.2% of native-born citizens with a post-secondary certificate or diploma. Immigrants who have landed five years or earlier have an even higher unemployment rate of 7.6%. Native-born Canadians who have a university degree have a 3.1% unemployment rate compared to the 6.7% of landed immigrants and 10.9% of immigrants who have landed five or fewer years earlier.
Many times immigrants are seen as the reason behind the rising unemployment issue. But it is important to take a look at the issue from their perspective as well. Unemployment is something that affects them too, more so than native-born Canadians.
