The median income of newcomers in Canada, who do not have any previous Canadian work experience is lower than those who have worked in Canada or studied, found in a study by Statistics Canada. But a new study shows that wages of immigrants have been at a surge in recent years.
Immigrants who gained permanent residency in Canada in the year 2018 had their median wage at $31,900, the highest recorded among all groups of immigrants who have come to Canada since immigration to the country began in 1981. This amount is also 4% higher than the median wage of immigrants who moved to Canada permanently in 2017. But this was still about 18% lower than the median wage of workers who were born in Canada, recorded at $38,800.
This data has been gathered from the studies recently conducted by Statistics Canada on the wages of immigrants and newcomers in Canada. The study also incorporated the data gathered from the Longitudinal Immigration Database, taking information for research as well as to study the immigrants to Canada and their Canada at the time of their arrival in the country, their economic outcomes as well as their mobility in the country. The first part of the study focuses on the outcomes of the immigrants and the second part on their mobility.
When taking into account the principal candidates to the immigration programs for the economic class, the median wages are found to be higher for the workers born in Canada in 2019. For the immigrants who came to Canada in 2018, their wages were found to be around $43,600 in 2019, which was around 12% higher than their wages in the year in which they arrived in Canada. The main reason for this is speculated to be the method by which the immigrants from the economic class are selected.
A principal applicant from the various economic categories is selected based on their ability to integrate into the labor market of Canada as well as their ability to contribute to the economy. Most of the candidates selected will have at least a post-secondary-level educational credential as well as language proficiency in at least one official language of Canada.
Having previous experience in Canada before immigration is found to have an impact on the wages of the immigrants. This is because study or work experience in Canada provides the immigrants with a means to improve their skills as well as work on their knowledge of the Canadian labor market. Experience in Canada can be of 3 types, work experience, study experience, or both.
The immigrants who have worked as well as studied in Canada before their immigration are found to have the highest median wage among immigrant groups. The immigrants who moved to Canada in the year 2018 had their median wage at $44600 in 2019. This figure was even higher than the median wage of the workers who were born in Canada, $38,800.
Experience in work is found to be a good support to immigrant wages during their first year in Canada after arrival. Even the immigrants who only had previous work experience before their arrival in the country were found to have higher median wages in their second year than their Canada-born counterparts. Immigrants with only study experience in Canada before their arrival in the country were found to have the lowest median wages within a year of their landing, and the likely cause for this can be attributed to the fact that this class of immigrants tends to be younger than their counterparts. In all the three groups of immigrants, the immigrants who arrived in 2018 were found to have higher median wages within a year of their arrival than the immigrants who moved to Canada in 2017.
From the year 2010 to 219, the median wages of both male and female workers have increased in all immigration categories, but male immigrants and female immigrants are found to have gained different benefits from this increase. When the principal applicants of various economic classes are taken into account, the median wages of female immigrants started lower than that of male immigrants, and the wages of male immigrants were also found to increase at a faster rate. This resulted in a gap in the median wage that widened between the male and female immigrants over time to become in favor of male immigrants. Studies show that further analysis is needed to correctly find the main cause behind this.
The effect was found to be opposite in the other categories of immigrants. The median wages of female immigrants started low but increased at a faster pace than that of their male immigrant counterparts. The categories in which this was observed include refugees, families who sponsored immigrants, as well as economic dependents. With the increase in the wages of female immigrants, the wage gap has narrowed throughout the study conducted.
