Understanding labour market integration and settlement experiences of newcomers to Saskatchewan

By: Lori Wilkinson, Jill Bucklaschuk , Jack (Yi) Shen, Iqbal Ahmed Chowdhury, Pallabi Bhattacharyya & Tamara Edkins

Presentation to the Ministry of the Economy, Government of Saskatchewan 04 December 2014

Objectives of Today’s Presentation • PROJECT OBJECTIVES: to better understand the

settlement experiences of immigrants in western Canada and how they may compare to immigrants in other provinces – Labour market, service use, social integration and cohesion,

language acquisition

• TODAY’S OBJECTIVES – Examine and compare various outcomes among immigrants in

Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada with special attention to: labour market, service use, language and sense of belonging

2

Datasets used • Pan Canadian Settlement Survey (N=20,818) and Western

Canadian Settlement Survey (N=3,006) • Random samples drawn from a CIC data file

– Telephone survey conducted in late 2012-early 2013 – Response rates: between 24.6% and 38.0%

• IMDB – Landings records (LIDS) combined with tax files for all immigrants

and refugees landing between 1980 and 2012 – Census of the population

• Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (2004) – Followed 5,000 immigrants for their first two years in Canada (landing

between 2002-2004)

3

How representative are the surveys? • Surprisingly good match between IMDB (Census of

immigrants) and the other surveys • Western Canada Settlement Survey

– Under-represented female economic class dependents – Over-represented female economic class principal applicants – Under-represented male and female refugees – Under-represented rural dwellers in all provinces – Under represented economic classes in Saskatchewan – Over represented refugees in Saskatchewan

• Pan Canadian Settlement Survey – Under-represented men from BC – Over-represented women from SK and MB – Over-represented men from SK and MB

4

Immigrant Arrivals by Province, 2003-12

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2014

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Immigration Trends, 2003-2012 by Province of Residence

BC

AB

SK

MB

TR*

TFW, International Students, & Permanent Residents by Province

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2014

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

BC AB SK MB

Num

ber o

f Res

pond

ents

TFW, International Students, and Permanent Residents by Province, 2013

TFW International Students Permanent Residents

Who immigrates to Saskatchewan?

11%

82%

6%

Immigrants by Entry Class, Saskatchewan, 2013

family class economic classrefugees other

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (2014) Immigration Facts and Figures.

11%

73%

11%

2% 3%

Immigrants by Source Region, Saskatchewan 2013

Africa & Middle East Asia and Pacific

Europe and UK US

South & Central America Unknown

Select demographics from Western Canada Survey

8

Percent rural immigrants, by province

• BC - 5.5% • AB - 12.7% • SK - 16.3% • MB - 8.2%

30.8

39.9

27.6

13.0

40.5

30.1

25.1 25.8

5.6

10.5

31.2

38.9

8.9

16.6

11.8 10.4

05

1015202530354045

BC AB SK MB

Perc

ent

Skilled Worker/ Professional Family ClassProvincial Nominee Refugee

Labour Force and Foreign Credential Recognition

Immigrants in Saskatchewan report that they know where to get help finding a job

55%

69% 70% 66%

55% 59%

61% 60%

45%

66%

48%

57%

64% 64%

48% 52% 52% 51%

35%

61%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

BC AB SK MB ON QC NS NB PEI NFLD

Male

Female

Source: Pan-Cdn X2 (Male) = 158.677 df= 18 P≤0.000; X2 (Female) = 172.974 df= 18 P≤0.000

Some newcomers would like more connections with employers

Connections with possible employers as being helpful prior to arrival by province of residence

Province of Residence

Total BC AB SK MB No

57.8% 44.2% 46.7% 59.2% 1488 (52.1%)

Yes 42.2% 55.8% 53.3% 40.8% 1368

(47.9%) Total

682 (100%)

755 (100%)

642 (100%)

777 (100%)

2856 (100%)

Source: WCSS, 2013. Χ2 = 50.613, df=3, P≤0.01 11

Those with good language skills are more likely to be working

Ease of Language Use by Labour Force Participation Ease of Language Use

Total

Difficult Somewhat difficult

Neither difficult nor

easy

Somewhat easy Easy

In labour force 42.1% 59.8% 73.7% 81.9% 89.8% 16541

(83.6%)

Not in labour force

57.9% 40.2% 26.3% 18.1% 10.2% 3248 (16.4%)

Total 617 (100%)

798 (100%)

1827 (100%)

5107 (100%)

11440 (100%)

19789 (100%)

Source: PCSS, 2012 χ2=1563.918, df=4, P≤0.00 12

Unemployment rate by immigrant class & province

Source: WCSS, 2013 X2 (SP)=12.672, df= 6, p≤0.05; X2 (PN) =23.897, df=6, p≤0.001; X2 (R) =39.315, df=6, p≤0.00

14 10.1 8.5

13 13.2

3.8

9 10.3

19.7

5.5

28.9

11.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

BC AB SK MB

Perc

ent

Skilled worker/professional Provincial Nominee Refugee

Factors influencing employment British Columbia

Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba

Sex 3.12** 2.12** 2.19** 2.18** Education in Canada

1.52*

0.48* .34** 0.61*

English ability 1.74* 2.61** 1.66* 1.39* Months in Canada

1.06 1.19* 1.33** 1.10

Economic class

3.5** 0.54* 2.85** 1.21

Racialized minority

1.43 1.31 0.57* 0.81

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WCSS 2013

SK & MB more satisfied with pre-arrival FQR

42%

48%

56%

51%

40% 40% 42%

44%

35%

49%

37%

46%

49%

52%

38%

42%

35% 37%

35%

41%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

BC AB SK MB ON QC NS NB PEI NFLD

Male

Female

PCSS, 2013 X2 (Male) = 122.358 df= 18 P≤0.000; X2 (Female) =108.970 df= 18 P≤0.000

Rural residents in Saskatchewan feel lack of Canadian experience prevents them from finding work Difficulty finding a job due to lack of Canadian experience by Urban Residence and Province of Residence

Province of Residence Total BC AB SK MB

Urban 63.3% 41.4% 45.7% 66.6% 881 (56.0%)

Rural 36.7% 58.6% 54.3% 33.4% 692 (44.0%)

Total 431 (100%)

365 (100%)

289 (100%)

488 (100%)

1573 (100%)

Even economic class immigrants want better pre-arrival assessment of education

Assessment of international education and experience as being helpful prior to arrival by immigration class

Immigration Class

Total Skilled worker or

professional

Family class

Provincial nominee Refugee Business

class CEC Live-in caregiver Other*

No

49.1% 54.0% 44.9% 54.5% 66.2% 48.8% 56.0% 60.6% 1481 (51.2%)

Yes

50.9% 46.0% 55.1% 45.5% 33.8% 51.2% 44.0% 39.4% 1412 (48.8%)

Source: WCSS, 2013. Χ2 = 25.979, df=7, P≤0.01 17

Trouble finding work that matches my qualifications by province and class

Post-arrival job status, immigrants compared to Canadian-born

Immigrant Born in Canada

Pre-arrival Post-arrival NOC A 47% 28% 37% NOC B 30% 27% 26% NOC C 21% 31% 28% NOC D 2% 14% 9%

Among university-educated immigrants, 43% of females and 35% of males worked in occupations requiring a high school education or less. In comparison, only 15% of university-educated Canadian-born worked in occupations requiring high school education or less.

Statistics Canada ALF 2014; WCSS 2013; Uppall and Larochelle-Côte 2014

Change in post-arrival job-skill match by province

53%

51%

52%

51%

25%

27%

28%

27%

23%

23%

20%

23%

0% 20% 40% 60%

BC

AB

SK

MB

UpSameDown

Job-skill match by province & class 67%

53%

75% 66%

21% 12%

28%

9%

31%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

BC AB SK MB

Status decline Stayed same Status increase

Refugees

22%

47% 45%

55% 49%

27% 28% 22% 25% 26% 28%

23%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

BC AB SK MBStatus decline Stayed same Status increase

Provincial Nominees

46% 55% 53%

66%

31% 31% 33% 19% 23%

15% 14% 16%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

BC AB SK MB

Status decline Stayed same Status increase

Skilled Worker & Professional

Family class: no statistically significant differences.

Job status generally increases with time

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0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

<1 year 1-1.9 years 2-2.9 years 3-.9 years 4-4.9 years 5+ years

NOC A

NOC B

NOC C

NOC D

Why don’t labour market outcomes rebound? • There is “less than perfect” international transferability of

skills and work experience – Those with higher skills experience the largest declines

• Some immigrant characteristics put them at risk of low returns – Low or no language skills, “lower” quality education, lack of

good job networks – Some evidence of labour market discrimination

• There tends to be an assumption that migration is a rational decision based solely on labour market return – Fails to take into account the non-economic reasons for migration – Assumes that immigrants have full knowledge of the labour

markets in which they are entering

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Community Integration & Settlement Service Indicators

Immigrants in SK & AB have strongest sense of belonging Sense of Belonging by Province of Residence

Province of Residence

Total BC AB SK MB

Weak 5.8% 2.5% 3.7% 4.7% 4.1%

Moderate 24.6% 16.7% 16.2% 22.0% 19.9%

Strong 69.6% 80.8% 80.0% 73.4% 75.9%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Source: WCSS, 2013 χ2=35.124, df=6, P≤0.01

Rural dwellers in SK have lowest sense of belonging

Total BC AB SK MB Rural Weak 2.7% 1.1% 1.0% 3.1% 1.7%

Moderate 16.2% 11.6% 20.2% 9.4% 14.7% Strong 81.1% 87.4% 78.8% 87.5% 83.7%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Urban Weak 6.1% 2.8% 4.3% 4.9% 4.5% Moderate 24.9% 17.6% 15.8% 23.3% 20.6%

Strong 69.0% 79.7% 79.9% 71.8% 74.9%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Service use by urban area

29.7

35.5

13

35.3

25

37.9

29.1

35.6

42.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Perc

ent

27

Service access by province and rural/urban

Source: WCSS, 2013 χ2 (Rural) =8.595, df=3 , p≤ =0.035; χ2 (Urban) =11.945, df=3, p≤ =0.01

12.1

26.9 26.5

39.7 37 35.7 35.1

43.4

05

101520253035404550

BC AB SK MB

Perc

ent

Rural Urban

28

Satisfaction with services received by province

7.5 5.8 5.1 5.1 6.4 4.0 4.8 5.1 5.9 7.1

36.7 32.7 30.5 30.7

35.2 32.4 32.3 33.1

41.2

26.6

55.7 61.5

64.5 64.2 58.4

63.5 62.9 61.9

52.9

64.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

BC AB SK MB ON QC NB NS PEI NL

Perc

ent

Low Medium HighSource: Pan-Canadian Settlement Survey, 2012. χ2=74.581, df=18, P≤0.01 29

Reasons for not accessing services by province

46.8

18.2

9.8 7.6

59.2

32.2

20.5

11.7

46.2

32.3

21.6 14.9

41.3

22.8

12.6 6.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

You do not needhelp to settle

Lack ofinformation orawareness of

services

Confusion aboutwho to go for

help

Lack of servicesin local

community

Perc

ent

BC AB SK MB

Almost 1/3 of those experiencing difficulty finding work have not used services

Difficulty finding work because there are not a lot of jobs available that match my qualifications by service use

Service Use

Total Accessed services

Did not access services

No 78.6% 71.2%

1268 (74.2%)

Yes 21.4% 28.8%

440 (25.8%)

Total 702 (100%)

1006 (100%)

1708 (100%)

Source: WCSS X2=12.030 df= 1 P≤0.001

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Services most needed after arrival by province

46.8 50.3 55.4

53.1

15.3 12.3

7.8 9.9

37.8 37.5 36.8

37.0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

BC AB SK MB

Perc

ent

Employment Services Health and Wellness Other

Source: WCSS, 2013. χ2 = 16.133, df=6, P≤0.013

Top-ranked services needed for Saskatchewan

• Employment services - 55.4% • Supportive counselling - 8.7% • Information about living in your province - 8.3% • Health and Wellness - 7.8% • English language assessment and instruction - 5.9% • Programs to connect you with members of the local

community - 5.3% • Interpretation and Translation - 4.3% • Programs to help your children - 3.4%

Language Indicators

Urban dwellers prefer pre-arrival language assessment

Desire for pre-arrival language assessment & training by rural/urban

Rural or Urban Total Rural Urban

No 70.7% 59.7% 1738

(60.9%)

Yes 29.3% 40.3% 1116

(39.1%)

Total 304

(100%) 2550

(100%) 2854

(100%)

Source: WCSS, 2013. χ2 = 13.797, df=1, P≤0.01 35

Service use by language and province of residence

Service use by English language ability & Province of Residence

English Language Ability Total None Moderate Excellent

BC Accessed services 51.2% 42.6% 34.2% 232

(36.2%) Did not access services 48.8% 57.4% 65.8% 409

(63.8%) AB Accessed services

60.0% 51.5% 32.0% 258 (34.6%)

Did not access services 40.0% 48.5% 68.0% 487

(65.4%) SK Accessed services

54.1% 43.9% 31.3% 211 (33.8%)

Did not access services 45.9% 56.1% 68.7% 414

(66.2%)

Source: WCSS χ2 (BC) = 6.141, df=2, P≤0.05; χ2 (Alberta) = 17.484, df=2, P≤0.01; χ2 (Saskatchewan) = 10.896, df=2, P≤0.01

36

Service use by language & province of residence Service use by English language ability & Province of Residence

English Language Ability Total None Moderate Excellent

BC Accessed services 51.2% 42.6% 34.2% 232

(36.2%) Did not access services 48.8% 57.4% 65.8% 409

(63.8%) AB Accessed services

60.0% 51.5% 32.0% 258 (34.6%)

Did not access services 40.0% 48.5% 68.0% 487

(65.4%) SK Accessed services

54.1% 43.9% 31.3% 211 (33.8%)

Did not access services 45.9% 56.1% 68.7% 414

(66.2%)

Source: WCSS χ2 (BC) = 6.141, df=2, P≤0.05; χ2 (Alberta) = 17.484, df=2, P≤0.01; χ2 (Saskatchewan) = 10.896, df=2, P≤0.01

37

Service use by language and immigration class

English Language Ability Total

None Moderate Excellent Family class

Accessed services 34.8% 38.5% 24.1% 225

(26.4%) Did not access services 65.2% 61.5% 75.9% 626

(73.6%) Provincial nominee

Accessed services 84.6% 63.2% 38.4% 248

(40.9%) Did not access services 15.4% 36.8% 61.6% 358

(59.1%) Refugee Accessed services

75.6% 64.1% 51.4% 189 (57.4%)

Did not access services 24.4% 35.9% 48.6% 140

(42.6%)

38

Why does province of residence matter? • Structure of immigration policy and settlement funding

– Changes to the funding and structure of settlement services (moving from a provincially-run to centralized control)

• Demographics are changing – More immigrants moving to Canada’s west than ever before – More immigrants living outside of Canada’s largest CMAs

• Labour markets are different – Saskatchewan labour market and demographic changes influence job

outlook – Alberta has been relying on TFWs for much longer than other

provinces (TFWs cannot access services) – Strong mismatch between skills and job, especially among those living

in rural areas

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What are the implications for labour market success? • How can we better facilitate pre-arrival connections with

potential employers? • What other employment services can be provided for

newcomers? How do we advertise these services? • Status decline is a real phenomenon and affects half of

all immigrants. This is also a problem for native-born Canadians and those with education in Canada. – Skills/jobs mismatch seems to be the greatest in rural areas – Nearly 1/3 of those will job difficulties do not access services. Is

there a way to reach out to them?

40

How are we doing with regard to FQR?

• Having credentials, work experience, and internationally-acquired educational skills recognized remains a significant problem for all immigrants, regardless of job status, education or skill set

• How can we encourage professional organizations and accreditation bodies to assist in pre-arrival skill and educational assessments?

• There is a widely held perception that lack of Canadian experience is an impediment to acquiring a job

41

How do we better address language readiness?

• Self-report language skills are not a good indicator of real language ability—but we are not aware of any study that can link language scores with labour market outcomes

• Those with lower language skills struggle in the labour market regardless of how much or where they obtained their education

• There are some immigration classes who are more likely to experience poor language skills and have difficulty accessing services. Can we assist them in different ways?

42

Additional Findings, Reports and Information

Immigration Research West 92 Dysart Road University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB Canada R3T 3M5 Email: Lori.Wilkinson@umanitoba.ca irw@umanitoba.ca http://umanitoba.ca/about_IRW.html

43

Selected Data Sources • Alberta Labour. Immigrants in the Labour Force. Edmonton: Government of

Alberta, 2014 • Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Evidence from the Pan-Canadian

Settlement Outcomes Survey, 2012. Ottawa: CIC, January 2013. • Citizenship & Immigration Canada IMDB Microdata File. Ottawa: CIC 2013. • V. Esses, L. Hamilton, L. Wilkinson, L. Zong, J. Bucklaschuk and J.

Bramadat. Western Canada Settlement Outcomes Survey. Calgary: CIC Western Region Office, June 2013.

• Statistics Canada Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2007.

• Statistics Canada Annual Labour Force Survey, Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2014

• Statistics Canada National Household Survey, Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2014

44

Acknowledgements • Immigration Research West • Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Western Region • Citizenship and Immigration Canada, National Headquarters • Western Settlement Survey University of Saskatchewan:

Martin Gaal, Joe Garcea and SSRL • Population Research Laboratory, University of Alberta • Western Settlement Survey researchers: Victoria Esses

(Western University), Leah Hamilton (Mount Royal University) and Li Zong (University of Saskatchewan)

• Research assistants: Janine Bramadat, Palak Dhiman, Kaitlyn Fraser, University of Manitoba

45