Changing Landscapes: Recent Immigrants Living in York Region

Recent immigrants were most affected
during the recent economic downturn
The 2009 Labour Force Survey indicated that
recent immigrants living in Ontario fared the
worst during the 2008/2009 recession and have
been slower to recover from unemployment.
Unemployment rates during the recession, for
immigrants aged 15 and over in Ontario who landed
in Canada in the last five years, were reported at
12.9 per cent in October 2008 and 16.6 per cent
in August 2009. This is compared to 5.9 per cent
in October 2008 and 8.9 per cent in August 2009
for Canadian-born individuals (Source: Statistics
Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2008 to 2009).
While the unemployment rates of Canadianborn
individuals and established immigrants in
Ontario were levelling off, the unemployment
rate for recent immigrants continued to rise
and peaked at 21.2 per cent in October 2010.
At the same time, the unemployment rates for
established immigrants were very similar to that
of Canadian-born individuals (8.0 per cent and 7.8
per cent respectively). As of October 2010, recent
immigrants in Ontario had unemployment rates
2.72 times that of Canadian-born individuals –
among the highest in the country (Source: Statistics
Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2010).
Recent immigrants who take a “survival
job” as their first job risk losing their
skills
Many recent immigrants feel the pressure to find
“any job” upon arrival to earn an income and begin
to establish themselves in Canadian society. If they
are unable to find a job in their occupation, after
a few months they often turn to a lower skilled
occupation. Research has shown that this means the
individual often loses his or her skills and is unable
to find a job in their occupation afterwards (Ministry
of Training, Colleges and Universities, 2002).
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN:
employment and income are measures of integration and indicators of the degree of
vulnerability of a population. The findings have implications for services, supports and
social assistance as well as housing, transportation and education.
» Employers need to match the skills, training, education and knowledge of recent immigrants with
suitable employment.
» Employment and settlement services are most critical in the first few years after immigration.
Changing Landscapes: Recent Immigrants Living in York Region
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