New immigrants are entering Canada’s labour market faster, but job mismatch remains a major barrier

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published April 9, 2026

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Two new studies released by Statistics Canada on April 7 suggest that recent working-age immigrants are entering Canada’s labour market more quickly than earlier cohorts did, but the data also show that early access to work does not necessarily mean fair access to suitable work.

According to the findings, 42.5 percent of recent immigrants who did not have a job on arrival found work or started a business within less than three months. That was higher than the 31.3 percent recorded among immigrants who had arrived 10 to less than 15 years earlier. The comparison points to stronger initial labour market integration, helped in part by tighter post-pandemic hiring conditions.

Still, Statistics Canada said 31.7 percent of recent immigrants reported difficulties finding their first job or starting their first business in Canada. The main barriers included a lack of Canadian job experience or references, limited professional networks, and foreign work experience not being recognized. Language barriers and incomplete recognition of some foreign credentials also remained major obstacles.

The second study highlighted a deeper challenge for many newcomers: finding a job is not the same as finding the right job. Among recent immigrants with postsecondary education, 32.6 percent reported working in jobs below their qualifications, compared with 19.1 percent of Canadian-born workers. Recent immigrants were also more likely to be employed in jobs unrelated to their field of study, at 20.8 percent versus 15.6 percent among people born in Canada.

The results also covered non-permanent residents, who appeared to enter work relatively quickly. Among those without a job before arrival, 48.5 percent found a first job in less than three months. But faster entry did not erase wage gaps. Average hourly pay stood at 26.15 dollars for non-permanent residents, compared with 29.97 dollars for recent immigrants and 39.29 dollars for Canadian-born workers.

Taken together, the studies suggest that newcomers are getting into Canada’s labour market faster than before, but many are still being channelled into roles that do not reflect their education, experience or skills. For many immigrants, the real challenge is not only getting hired, but getting hired at the level they worked for.