New figures from Statistics Canada show the employment gap between immigrants and Canadian-born workers has reached its lowest level since 2006, the first year it studied.
The research showed 78.9 per cent of newcomers aged 25 to 54 are in the workforce.
The career pathways loan program in New Brunswick is aimed at helping immigrants and permanent residents afford the upgrading of professional credentials not recognized in Canada. (Nicole Ireland/CBC)
That compares with 84 per cent of Canadian-born workers in the same age bracket that Stats Can says is when individuals are most likely to have finished their schooling and not yet retired.
The 6.4 per cent differential is for 2017, the last year the agency has complete figures.
It was the third consecutive year that the gap has narrowed.
Still, many newcomers to Canada have difficulty finding jobs that match their education level in the countries they came from and grow frustrated.
Most of the growth in the workforce between 2016 and 2017 was accounted for by immigrants of core working age and Canadian-born workers aged 55 and older.
Roughly 30 immigrants, mainly from Tunisia, were in in Val-d’Or, QC earlier this month to take part in a recruitment event. (Mélanie Picard/Radio-Canada)
From 2016 to 2017, 87,000 new immigrants joined the workforce, compared to 59,000 new Canadian-born workers.
Statistics Canada says newcomers are more likely to have low-paying jobs in the accommodation and food industries, but are also one third of the workforce in high-paying industries such as finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing services, as well as professional, scientific and technical services.
The highest employment rates were among immigrants from the Philippines, with 88.5 per cent of them having jobs, a better rate of employment than the Canadian-born population.
Through much of 2018, Canada’s unemployment rate hovered near a 40-year low and job creation remained strong as the evidence pointed to an economy going at close to full tilt.
With files from CBC, Statistics Canada
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