ARCHIVED – The Labour Market Progression of the LSIC Immigrants

A Perspective from the Second Wave of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) — Two Years after Landing

Occupational distribution at two years after landing reveals progression towards higher-skilled jobs relative to Wave 1 results

Two years after arrival, almost 6 in 10 immigrants were working. Among these immigrants, nearly 3 of every 10 were working in sales and service occupations, followed by 15% in occupations in processing, manufacturing and utilities, 15% in natural and applied sciences and related occupations, and 14% in business, finance and administrative occupations.

Consistent with Wave 1 results, an occupational shift from higher to lower-skilled jobs relative to pre-immigration occupations was still present two years after arrival[Note 9]. Prior to arrival, greater proportions of immigrants had worked in relatively higher-skilled occupations such as management, natural and applied sciences, health, social sciences, education, and government service occupations. After arrival, more immigrants worked in sales and service and processing, manufacturing and utilities, which are categorized as lower-skilled occupations. In fact, among the top 5 occupations after landing, natural and applied sciences and related occupations is the only high-skill occupational group.

¹ Based on the Wave 2 interview sample.

² Based on the Wave 1 interview sample.

Note: The occupations of immigrants are classified by the first level of occupational groupings from the Standard Occupational Classification.

0^S: value rounded to zero.

Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada – Wave 1 (2001) and Wave 2 (2003)

This trend is made more evident using the second level (e.g. more detailed) of occupational groupings from the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)[Note 11]. Table 15 shows the most common occupations at the time of the Wave 2 interview using two-digit occupational groupings from SOC.

As shown in Table 15, female immigrants were more likely to be employed in clerical jobs and sales and service occupations (12% for both) while male immigrants were more likely to be working in professional occupations in natural and applied sciences.

Percentages are based on the number of immigrants who were employed at the time of the W2 interview.

Note: The occupation groups in this table list two-digit occupational groupings from the Standard Occupational Classification. 

Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada – Wave 2 (2003)

Analysis of occupational data reveals some progression towards higher-skilled occupations over time (e.g. as compared to the Wave 1 interview). For example, at six months after landing, 4% of working immigrants held jobs in management occupations whereas at two years after landing a greater proportion (6%) were working in this occupational group. The same pattern was identified for other high-skilled occupations: social science, education, government services, health, and business, finance and administrative occupations (as shown in Table 14).

Percentages are based on the number of immigrants who were employed at the time of the W1 or W2 interview. 

Note: The occupation groups in this table list two-digit occupational groupings from the Standard Occupational Classification. 

Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada – Wave 1 (2001) and Wave 2 (2003)

Similarly, as shown in Table 16, professional occupations in natural and applied sciences became the most common occupational group two years after arrival, while at six months after landing sales and service occupations ranked first. Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences entered into the top 5 most common occupations at 2 years after landing while labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities dropped below the top 5. The Wave 2 interview suggests modest progress in the job market as characterized by job movements to higher-skilled occupations.

The third wave of LSIC will provide additional insight on job progression of the LSIC immigrant population.

Notes

⁹ All occupational groups can be classified by skill level based on education and training needs. Lower-skilled occupations usually require secondary school and/or occupation-specific training. Higher-skilled occupational groups usually require university education or college education and/or apprenticeship training.

¹⁰ The sample sizes in two waves are different: during the first wave of the LSIC, 12,040 immigrants were interviewed, while during the second wave, 9,322 immigrants from Wave 1 were interviewed again.

¹¹ Analysis performed on the type of employment level at the time of interview as identified by the major occupational groups of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) – i.e., at the two-digit level.

¹² The sample sizes in two waves are different: during the first wave of the LSIC, 12,040 immigrants were interviewed, while during the second wave, 9,322 immigrants from wave 1 were interviewed again.

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