According to a recent analysis by Statistics Canada, immigrants from Africa and Asia recorded the highest employment rates in 2023 among all landed immigrant groups in Canada. Maple News reports that these trends reflect important shifts in the labor market participation of newcomers by region of origin.
Landed immigrants from Africa had the highest average employment rate at 67.7%, followed closely by immigrants from Asia at 66.3%, and Latin America at 66%. These rates exceeded the national average employment rate for landed immigrants, which stood at 62.7%. In contrast, immigrants from North America and Europe each had employment rates of 56.6%, both falling below the national average.
These findings apply to landed immigrants aged 15 and older – a group that includes permanent residents but excludes Canadian citizens (by birth or naturalization), temporary foreign workers, and international students.
Employability patterns remained largely consistent across both male and female newcomer cohorts. However, in a slight deviation, Latin American women ranked second in employment rates, pushing Asian women to third, though the trend remained mostly in line with the overall results.
In a surprising twist, the rankings significantly shifted when narrowing the analysis to the core working-age population—defined as immigrants aged 25 to 54. Within this group, European immigrants led with a high employment rate of 88.3%, followed by Latin America (82.8%), North America (82.7%), Asia (81.7%), and Africa (79.8%).
These reversed results among core-aged immigrants may reflect differences in education recognition, work experience, and language fluency, which often align more closely with Canadian labor market expectations in some regions.
The study underscores not only the variations in employment success based on region of origin but also highlights the complex dynamics that shape immigrant integration into Canada’s workforce. As Canada’s economy increasingly relies on immigration for labor force growth, these insights help inform both policy and settlement support services.
Maple News will continue tracking developments in immigrant labor market outcomes, offering in-depth coverage to help newcomers and employers navigate Canada’s evolving workforce landscape.