64.8% of Newcomers Find Jobs in Canada Within 6 Months: StatCan

The findings paint a mixed picture. Access to jobs has improved over time and fewer immigrants reported lack of Canadian experience as a barrier. However, challenges with lower wages, credential recognition, and overqualification remain.

Key Takeaways 

• 64.8% of recent immigrants and non-permanent residents found a job within 6 months of arrival. 

• Recent immigrants earn 23.7% less than Canadian-born workers, while non-permanent residents earn 33.4% less. 

• 25.2% of immigrants report being overqualified, compared to 19.1% of Canadian-born workers. 

• Overqualification is highest among recent immigrants at 32.6% but declines over time. 

42.5% of Newcomers Find Work Within the First Three Months 

Among recent working-age immigrants who had not secured a job before arriving, 42.5% found their first job or started a business within three months of arriving in Canada. A new Statistics Canadastudy found that 64.8% of recent working-age immigrants and non-permanent residents (NPRs) who did not have a job lined up before arrival found their first job within six months. 

The data shows significant improvement in the time it takes immigrants to find their first job in Canada. Among immigrants who had arrived 10 to 15 years earlier, only 31.3% had found work within three months of arriving.  

Not everyone found work quickly, though. Among recent immigrants who had not secured a job before arriving, 7.1% took between one and two years to find work, and 10.9% had not held a job or started a business in Canada at all. 

Acceptance of Foreign Work Experience Growing 

About 3 in 10 recent working-age immigrants (31.7%) and NPRs (27.1%) said they ran into problems finding their first job or starting a business in Canada. The most common obstacles were not having enough Canadian work experience or references (42.2%) and lacking connections in the labour market (38.3%). 

A smaller share of recent immigrants (34.6%) listed non-acceptance of foreign work experience as a main difficulty, compared with 49.2% of immigrants who had arrived 10 to 15 years earlier. Thispoints to a shift in how employers look at internationally acquired experience.  

Among recent working-age immigrants who had obtained a job related to their highest foreign qualification, 69.4% said their foreign experience had been taken into consideration by their first employer when determining pay, benefits, and other job characteristics. That was 19.3 percentage points higher than the rate observed among immigrants who had arrived five to ten years earlier (50.1%).  

However, some immigrants still face barriers in entering the Canadian job market. Of the people who reported issues, nearly one-third experienced language-related difficulties and a similar number statedthat their foreign qualifications were not accepted. 

Non-Permanent Residents Earn 33.4% Less Than Canadian-Born Workers 

When newcomers find work, they often earn less than Canadian-born workers. 

In the third quarter of 2024, the average hourly wage for recent working-age immigrant employees was $29.97, which was 23.7% lower than the $39.29 average for core-aged workers born in Canada. For NPRs, that gap was even larger: an average hourly wage of $26.15, or 33.4% below the Canadian-born average.   

While the study does not explain the reasons for this, job mismatch likely plays a role. 

Only 42.7% Immigrants Got Full Credential Recognition for Regulated Occupations 

Credential recognition remains one of the most concrete barriers to labour market entry for newcomers with foreign qualifications. 

Of all working-age immigrants who applied for a license or accreditation in a regulated occupation using credentials earned outside Canada, only 42.7% had their qualifications and experience fully recognized by the third quarter of 2024. More than a third (34.0%) received only partial recognition. This means they had to complete further courses or training to qualify for accreditation.  

53% of Recent Immigrants Had Jobs Related to Their Foreign Qualifications 

Just over half of recent working-age immigrants with postsecondary credentials earned outside Canada (53.0%) had held a paid job in Canada that was entirely or partially related to their highest foreign qualification by the third quarter of 2024. For NPRs, that figure was lower at 39.8%. 

That said, recent immigrants are doing better on this than earlier cohorts. Among immigrants who had arrived 10 to 15 years earlier, only 41.5% had ever held a job related to their highest foreign credential. 

Looking more closely at recent immigrants, 38.2% had held a job entirely related to their foreign qualifications, while 14.7% had held one that was only partially related. Another 16.5% had applied for jobs in their field but were unsuccessful, and 30.5% had never applied for jobs in their field or never worked in Canada at all. 

32.6% of Recent Immigrants Are Overqualified for Their Jobs 

Another Statistics Canada study looked at job mismatch among recent immigrants with postsecondary credentials.  

Job mismatch refers to a gap between a worker’s skills, experience, or education and what their job actually requires. The study measured this across several dimensions, including whether workers felt overqualified overall, whether their job was unrelated to their field of study, whether their role requires less experience than they have, and whether their position only requires a high school diploma despite them holding a postsecondary credential. 

The findings show that overqualification is common and does not go away quickly. 

Working-age immigrants with a postsecondary diploma or degree were more likely to report being overqualified for their job (25.2%) than people born in Canada with the same level of education (19.1%). Among recent immigrants specifically, that figure was 32.6%, the highest of any group in the study. 

Recent immigrants with university degrees from OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries were less likely to experience job mismatch than those with degrees from non-OECD countries. There are currently 38 OECD member countries, nearly all of which are highly developed economies. This suggests that where you earned your credentials can influence your early outcomes in the Canadian labour market.  

Recent immigrants were also more likely to be working in a role unrelated to their field of study (20.2% versus 15.1% for Canadian-born workers), and more likely to be in a job that typically requires only a high school diploma or less, despite holding a postsecondary credential (25.6% versus 13.2%). 

For those earlier in their careers, the gap is wider. Among workers with less than five years of experience, 22.5% of recent immigrants said they had more skills than their job required, compared with 14.2% of their Canadian-born counterparts.  

Overqualification Drops to 22.4% After 10 Years in Canada 

The numbers do improve over time. 

Among immigrants who had become permanent residents more than 10 years earlier, the overqualification rate had fallen to 22.4%, much closer to the 19.1% recorded for people born in Canada.  

This is not surprising as labour market outcomes for newcomers generally improve over time, the longer they stay in Canada. In some cases, newcomers complete additional studies here, while others may benefit from more Canadian experience or stronger language skills. 

What This Means for Newcomers 

The data shows that most newcomers find work, and faster than previous cohorts did. But for many, that first job does not reflect their qualifications, and a wage gap with Canadian-born workers persists. Outcomes do improve over time, but the early years can be challenging. 

Here are some steps you can take, before and after you arrive, to improve your job prospects in Canada: 

• Research your field and connect with potential employers before you arrive. Securing a job offer in advance can help you find work faster and improve the likelihood that your foreign experience is recognised from the start. 

• If your occupation is regulated, start the licensing process early. The credential recognition and licensing process for occupations such as medicine, nursing, or engineering, can take months or even years. In many cases, you can start the process before arriving in Canada. This can shorten your time taken to enter the labour market significantly. 

• Be open to first roles that don’t match your experience, especially if you have limited savings and want to find employment sooner. A role that builds your network in Canada can help you move into better-matched work over time. Some newcomers also opt for gig work to support themselves financially until they find suitable roles in their field. 

• Consider additional training or certifications. Short courses or Canadian credentials can improve your chances of finding a better-matched role. This is particularly important if your foreign qualifications have only been partially recognised. 

For more guidance on finding work in Canada, check out our career resources. Also, join the Moving2Canada community for updates on Canada’s labour market, job search tips, and more.