Employment Integration of Recent Immigrants in a Canadian Mid-Sized City: An Emerging Model

Abstract

With international migration on the rise and the critical need for labour in the global north, governments are increasingly focused on the employment integration of immigrants. Studies demonstrate that where immigrants choose to settle has an impact on how effectively they integrate into employment. In Canada, there has been a shift in immigrant settlement patterns away from large urban centres toward small and mid-sized cities. Understanding how local context shapes the employment integration of newcomers in their first few years of arrival is critical in informing policy to improve employment outcomes. Using a case study approach, this study explores the employment experiences of recent immigrants in a mid-sized city in Ontario, Canada to identify challenges and opportunities they face integrating into the local labour market. Findings were framed into an emerging model of immigrant employment-seeking strategies that identified how individual and contextual factors affect immigrant labour market integration. At the individual level, despite employing several strategies, most immigrants found themselves in low-skilled positions. At the city level, challenges were associated with a concentration of specific industries with a lower demand for diverse skill sets. Providing support at critical points of the integration process including prearrival and during the initial years postmigration can accelerate the uptake of immigrants into commensurate employment. This study contributes to further understanding of the important role of cities in ensuring the efficient and effective employment integration of immigrants into the Canadian labour market.