1997/98 PCERII Funded Research Abstract

Research Title: Shifting Origins, Shifting Labour Markets: Trends in the Occupational Attainment of Immigrants to Canada

Research Team:  Dr. Richard Wanner (University of Calgary) - Principal

Research Domain(s): Economic

The research proposed here will use unit-record data from Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey and the Census of Canada to determine the extent to which the opportunities afforded immigrants in Canada’s labour market are equivalent to the opportunities of the Canadian born, given equivalent human capital endowments. We will study trends in the occupational attainment process to determine the extent to which immigrants, particularly immigrants in urban labour markets, have matched the occupational attainments of native-born men and women. We will not only update earlier research on this issue but go beyond it by determining the effect of immigrant enclave and peripheral labour market employment in Canada on the mobility opportunities of immigrants. Rather than simply determining the extent to which immigrant status and country of origin are associated with occupational level, the analysis will examine differences in the process by which years of schooling and educational credentials are converted into occupational standing and the impact of both self-employment and the availability of co-ethnic employment.