Overqualified, Underutilized: Ottawa’s University Educated Immigrants

The persistent case of occupational overqualification is a less than desirable labour market outcome that affects skills utilization, productivity and economic growth. Read more

Immigrant labour market outcomes in Canada: The benefits of addressing wage and employment gaps

Royal Bank of Canada
This report from RBC examines the under-utilization of immigrants’ skills in the Canadian labour market. Immigrants continue to face much higher levels of unemployment and lower wages than Canadian-born workers with similar levels of education. RBC estimates that the under-utilization of skills represents an annual wage gap of $30.7 billion and a squandering of Canada’s growth potential.   Read more>>

The CFIB report: Help Wanted

Canadian Federation of Independent Business
As the Canadian economy moves further into recovery, some pre-recessionary research conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is becoming relevant once again. In 2004, to gain a better understanding of labour shortages among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the CFIB began to use data from its “Your Business Outlook” survey to study long-term vacancy rates. The long-term vacancy rate, defined as the share of positions that remained vacant for at least four months, is a robust measure of vacancy rates that excludes positions that became vacant as a result of temporary circumstances. This issue is poised once more to gain increased attention as tightening labour markets make it more difficult for SMEs to find the workers they need. Read the full report>>

Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labor Market? — A Field Experiment with Six Thousand Résumés

Philip Oreopoulos
This report details the findings from an experiment conducted on the effect of various immigrant characteristics in terms of the likelihood for being invited for an interview. The research examines differences in “call-back rates” for resumes that included ethnically identifiable characteristics and foreign education/work background versus resumes that had no ethnically identifiable characteristics and Canadian or British education/work background.   Read the full report>>

Downturn, Recovery and the Future Evolution of the Labour Market

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce 
This report provides a comprehensive summary of the Canadian labour market as it transitioned from growth to recession and on to recovery. Published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, it reviews the principal forces that shaped recent labour market and employment trends – changing demographics, globalization and technological innovation. It also outlines the Chamber’s recommendations for employers and policy makers to prepare for the types of changes needed to ensure ongoing economic prosperity in the face of a significantly altered labour market. Read the full report>>