JANUARY 2011 With funding from

Transcription

1 Immigrants and the Labour Market in Hamilton JANUARY 2011 With funding from

2 Prepared by: Tom Zizys Prepared with the support of: Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council Hamilton Training Advisory Board This document may be freely quoted and reproduced without obtaining the permission of the Hamilton Training Advisory Board provided that no changes whatsoever are made to the text and the Hamilton Training Advisory Board is acknowledged as author. The information presented in this report is current at the time of printing. The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada or the Government of Ontario.

3 PPREFACE This report, undertaken by Tom Zizys for the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council and the Hamilton Training Advisory Board, provides an analysis of the local labour market experiences of newcomers in Hamilton. Hamilton faces a major contradiction. Newcomers bring much needed skills but are facing enormous difficulties in being accepted into the Hamilton labour market. Notwithstanding Hamilton s increasing dependence on immigration for its future success and population growth, Hamilton is not making good use of its immigrant skills. Responding to the issues identified in this report are complex: integrating immigrants into the labour force involves a number of different stakeholders including employers, unions, educational institutions, community agencies serving immigrants, professional bodies, all three levels of government, as well as the individual immigrants themselves. This report identifies a number of opportunities and suggests some areas for action to more fully utilize the resources that newcomers to Hamilton bring to the local labour force. It is intended to facilitate discussion with all the above noted stakeholders in developing and implementing appropriate solutions. In developing a Hamilton immigrant labour market development strategy this report provides a foundational contribution of a discrete and essential strand of Hamilton s employment and economic development strategy. IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 1

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an overview of labour market outcomes for immigrants and newcomers settling in Hamilton, and offers a number of recommendations aimed at improving these outcomes. Historically, Hamilton has tended to attract immigrants and newcomers whose levels of educational attainment have been somewhat lower than those seeking to settle in other parts of Ontario. No doubt this is in part because of the nature of the industries that have defined the Hamilton economy. Hamilton s newcomers, even more so than in the rest of the province, have tended to end up in entrylevel occupations, survival jobs that are often precarious and typically offer limited prospects for advancement to better jobs with higher pay and greater security. Efforts to improve the labour market outcomes of newcomers to Hamilton will need to rely on initiatives that target specific occupations and industries, that are designed with a thorough understanding of the labour market dynamics of these distinct occupations and industries, and that depend on close interactions with employers in these fields. Such initiatives can only succeed when they address the individual employee recruitment, retention and training needs of partner employers as they define them. This paper identifies some potential target occupations and industries that could serve as candidates for such an approach. Hamilton industries Overall, the distribution of jobs across industries in Hamilton is relatively similar to the proportions found in Ontario as a whole, with the following exceptions: A much higher concentration in Hamilton of jobs in: Health Care and Social Assistance, largely due to employment in hospitals; Education, thanks to employment in universities; A somewhat higher concentration in Manufacturing, driven by a very high concentration of jobs in primary metal production and associated manufacturing; A much lower proportion of Hamilton jobs in: Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, particularly businesses engaged in scientific research and development and computer systems services; Finance and Insurance; and Public Administration, notably federal but also provincial government employment. 2 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

5 Occupations of Hamilton residents Among the broad occupation categories, Hamilton residents are less likely than other residents of Ontario to be employed in Management; Business, Finance and Administration; and Natural and Applied Sciences, and more likely to be employed in Health and Processing, Manufacturing & Utilities. Analyzing all 520 occupations, Hamilton residents are somewhat less likely than residents in the rest of Ontario to be employed in jobs that typically require a post-secondary education, and conversely more likely to be employed in blue collar jobs (manufacturing, construction, transportation) and entry-level service sector jobs. Employment opportunities In addition to having regard to what industries and occupations currently exist in Hamilton, a plan to enhance labour market outcomes for newcomers to the city also needs to have regard to future employment prospects. Hamilton s Economic Development Strategy seeks to promote six industry clusters: Advanced manufacturing Agribusiness and food processing Clean technology Creative industries Goods movement Life sciences Immigration to Hamilton Given the size of its population, Hamilton receives a slightly lower share of the immigrants coming to Ontario. Hamilton receives proportionately fewer newcomers from Southern and Eastern Asia while in turn receiving disproportionately more newcomers from the Middle East, West Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and Africa. On average, immigrants who choose to live in Hamilton have lower levels of educational attainment than those in the broad Greater Toronto Area, however this education discrepancy has been shrinking. Newcomers to the Hamilton CMA are somewhat less likely to hold degrees in Mathematics, Computer and Information Sciences or Humanities. Conversely, they are much more likely to hold degrees in Architecture, Engineering, and Related Technologies. Labour market outcomes for newcomers to Canada It is well-established that newcomers to Canada have poorer labour market outcomes compared to Canadian-born workers, as well as earlier cohorts of immigrants, despite high levels of post-secondary academic qualifications and previous work experience, with higher levels of unemployment, lower levels of remuneration, and more highly educated individuals working in jobs requiring few qualifications. The major obstacles that newcomer face in accessing job jobs include: Sufficient language proficiency; Canadian work experience; Recognition of foreign academic credentials; Recognition of foreign work experience; Familiarity with Canadian business practices, norms and culture. IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 3

6 Analysis of labour market outcomes of immigrants and newcomers to Hamilton A comparison of the varying proportions of immigrants (arrived in Canada before 2001) and newcomers (arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006) by major occupation categories indicates the following: HIGHER CONCENTRATIONS IMMIGRANTS Management + Health + + Social science, education, government + Trades, transport and equipment operators + Primary industry + + LOWER CONCENTRATIONS Business, finance and administration Natural and applied sciences Analyzing the data more closely reveals the following trends: pre-1996, immigrants to Hamilton tended to work in manufacturing jobs or in helping positions in health care or construction. The wave of immigrants saw a growing proportion of newcomers employed in professional and technical occupations in natural and applied sciences, though not in the same proportions as Ontario as a whole. Among newcomers, the proportions seem quite similar between Hamilton and Ontario (having regard to the slightly smaller proportion of newcomers in the Hamilton workforce). The one outlier is the high proportion of newcomers in Intermediate Occupations in Primary Industry in Hamilton. Reviewing specific occupations, compared to Ontario as a whole, Hamilton s newcomers are far more likely to find themselves in entry-level occupations. Three higher-level occupations make the top-ten list of jobs for Ontario s newcomers: computer programmers, information system analysts, and financial auditors and accountants. In comparison, Hamilton s newcomers top-ten list includes only postsecondary research assistants. Skills/sector framework distribution Viewing labour market outcomes for employed Canadian-born, immigrant and newcomer residents of Hamilton through the skills/sector framework illustrates the following: Both immigrants and newcomers hold a smaller proportion of Knowledge Work jobs than Canadian-born residents; Immigrants have a high concentration in the Middle Working category, the higher level jobs in manufacturing, construction and transportation; Newcomers meanwhile have a high concentration in the Working Entry category; Overall, the majority of newcomers (52.6%) end up in entry level jobs (Service Entry, Working Entry and Primary Entry). 4 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

7 These outcomes differ for those for the Ontario minus Toronto figures, where not only immigrants but also newcomers hold a higher proportion of Knowledge Work jobs than Canadian-born residents, and slightly less than half of newcomers end up in entry-level jobs. However, this aspect of labour market outcomes for immigrants in Hamilton needs to be seen in perspective. Historically, immigrants came to Hamilton to work in the blue-collar occupations (notably the steel mills, but other working-class jobs as well). Over the last decade, the level of educational attainment of immigrants coming to Hamilton has risen significantly, even though it has not reached a par with that of immigrants settling in other parts of Ontario. Comparing two cohorts of newcomers, those arriving between 1996 and 2001 and between 2000 and 2006, labour market outcomes for newcomers arriving in Ontario (both Toronto and the rest of Ontario minus Toronto) actually worsened, with fewer newcomers finding employment in Knowledge Work jobs. In Hamilton, the proportions in Knowledge Work jobs stayed steady, while otherwise there was shift in employment from Working sector jobs to Entry Service jobs. There are a number of areas that warrant either further analysis and exploration (for example, learning more about a particular industry or occupation by talking with employers) or consultation with settlement and employment service providers, to assess some potential initiatives against the experience of service providers in the field. These areas can be described as follows: Occupations where there has been some success in Hamilton (it would be worthwhile to gain further insights into the attraction of these occupations by speaking with employers as well as some newcomers working in these fields): Occupations in post-secondary education Electricians Metal forming, shaping and erecting trades Automotive service technicians Machine operators, industrial butchers and labourers in food, beverage and tobacco processing Sewing machine operators Metalworking machine operators Installers, servicers and trades helpers In addition, there are a number of occupations where newcomers in Hamilton appear not to be doing as well as newcomers elsewhere in Ontario, and given the numbers of individuals involved, it warrants investigating what could be done. These occupations are: Health occupations Civil, mechanical and electrical and electronics engineers Agriculture and horticulture workers Bookkeepers IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 5

8 Over half of Hamilton s newcomers end up in an entry-level job, and one in every five ends up in typical entry-level service job (sales clerk, cashier, cleaner, janitor, cook, server, security guard, taxi driver, etc.). A number of these occupations could be the subject of a career ladder program, where training and education attached to the workplace supports an individual to move up to the next job. Hamilton s six target clusters offer some possible opportunities, notably the following: Agribusiness and food processing (given the large number of newcomers already working in this sector) Goods movement (entry-level and advancement opportunities) Clean technology (possible bridging opportunities for foreign-trained engineers) On the supply side (that is, services directed at newcomers), the following possible initiatives should be considered by the network of agencies providing settlement and employment services to newcomers in Hamilton: Cataloguing of all employment services for newcomers in Hamilton Coordinating the provision of employment services (for example, scheduling of hours of operation, of workshops and other group activities) Promoting dialogue and networking among the different employment services silos (EO, CIC, MCI and OW) Cataloguing of all English language services for newcomers in Hamilton Developing partnerships between language, employment and credential assessment services in Hamilton Specialized programs focused on career advancement, such as local bridging programs, preapprenticeship and apprenticeship projects, and career ladder programs 6 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

9 CTABLE OF CONTENTS II. The labour market outcomes of I. Introduction 8 immigrants in Hamilton 9 The labour market context 9 Employment by industries in Hamilton 9 Employment by occupations among Hamilton residents 12 Future key industry clusters for Hamilton 14 Profile of immigrants and newcomers in Hamilton 16 Source regions 16 Educational attainment 17 Some other characteristics 18 Visible minority status 18 Major fields of study 19 Field of study cross-tabbed by source country 19 Labour market outcomes 20 Labour market outcomes generally for newcomers to Canada 20 Summary of the literature on labour market outcomes of newcomers to Canada 21 Analysis at the broad occupational level (1-digit NOC level) of labour market outcomes of newcomers to Hamilton 22 Analysis at the intermediate occupational level (2-digit NOC level) of labour market outcomes of newcomers to Hamilton 25 Analysis at the detailed occupation level (4-digit NOC level) of labour market outcomes of newcomers to Hamilton 26 Skills/sector framework distribution 27 III. From numbers to action: Opportunities for intervention 31 Opportunities by occupation 31 Occupations experiencing challenges 37 Dead-end occupations 41 Opportunities among Hamilton s six target clusters 42 Opportunities on the supply side 44 IV. Conclusion 46 Appendices 47 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 7

10 I. INTRODUCTION This report provides an overview of labour market outcomes for immigrants and newcomers settling in Hamilton, and offers a number of recommendations aimed at improving these outcomes. This report is organized as follows: A review of the employment context in Hamilton, including a description of Hamilton industries, occupations and economic development priorities; An overview of what the research literature tells us about the labour market experience of newcomers to Canada; A statistical profile of immigrants and newcomers to Hamilton; An overview of the labour market outcomes of immigrants and newcomers to Hamilton; Further analysis of this data and some resulting recommendations. A word on terms: In this report, the term immigrants will refer to those individuals who were not born in Canada and have been in Canada for at least five years; when referring to data, this actually means those who arrived before 2001 (the most recent detailed data comes from the last Census, administered in 2006). The term newcomers will refer to those individuals who were not born in Canada and have been in Canada for less than five years; when referring to data, this actually means those who arrived between 2001 and A word on data: most of the data for this report comes from customized Statistics Canada 2006 Census data made available to the Hamilton Training Advisory Board by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The data covers the geographic area of the City of Hamilton. In a few instances, the data refers to the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the City of Hamilton and also the City of Burlington and the Town of Grimsby. This data will be identified as Hamilton CMA. As well, most of the data refers to employment by residence, that is, the occupations and industries that Hamilton residents work in. These jobs may be located in the City of Hamilton, but includes jobs that residents commute to outside of Hamilton. In a few instances, the data refers to the actual jobs in Hamilton, and will be identified as such. 8 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

11 II. THE LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES OF IMMIGRANTS IN The labour market context Employment by industries in Hamilton One way to describe the labour market in Hamilton is through the levels of employment by industry. Table 1 lists the major industry categories (using the North American Industrial Classification System NAICS), both by absolute number of jobs and by the percentage of the total workforce, using 2006 Census data. The figures for Ontario are offered as comparison. Table 1: Employment in industries, Hamilton and Ontario, 2006 # % # % TOTAL % % 11 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting % % 21 Mining and oil and gas extraction % % 22 Utilities % % 23 Construction % % Manufacturing % % 41 Wholesale trade % % Retail trade % % Transportation and warehousing % % 51 Information and cultural industries % % 52 Finance and insurance % % 53 Real estate and rental and leasing % % 54 Professional, scientific, technical services % % 55 Management companies & enterprises % % 56 Administrative, support, remediation % % 61 Educational services % % 62 Health care and social assistance % % 71 Arts, entertainment and recreation % % 72 Accommodation and food services % % 81 Other services (not public administration) % % 91 Public administration % % This data does not include those who did not have a fixed workplace, which results in certain occupations and certain industries being undercounted, such as construction. Nevertheless, comparisons between Hamilton and Ontario are valid, because in each instance a comparable undercounting occurs. IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 9

12 Overall, the distribution of jobs across industries is relatively similar to Ontario s proportions, with the following exceptions: a much higher concentration in Hamilton of jobs in the Health Care and Social Assistance (largely due to employment in hospitals) in Education (largely due employment Assistance sectorsector (largely due to employment in hospitals) andand in Education (largely due toto employment in universities), a somewhat higher concentration in Manufacturing (driven primarymetal metal in universities), and aand somewhat higher concentration in Manufacturing (driven byby primary production and associated manufacturing); on the other hand, Hamilton has a noticeably production and associated manufacturing); on the other hand, Hamilton has a noticeablysmaller smaller proportion of jobs Professional, Scientific and and Technical Services (particularly businesses engaged in in proportion of in jobs in Professional, Scientific Technical Services (particularly businesses engaged scientific research and development and computer systems services), Finance and Insurance, and Public scientific research and development and computer systems services), Finance and Insurance, and Public Administration (particularly federal but also provincial government employment). Administration (particularly federal but also provincial government employment). TakingTaking the analysis a bit afurther, ChartChart 1 highlights thethe toptop tenten industries in in Hamilton bybynumber the analysis bit further, 1 highlights industries Hamilton numberofofjobs jobs in The size of each bubble is proportional to the number of jobs in that industry. The in The size of each bubble is proportional to the number of jobs in that industry. Thevertical verticalaxis axis compares the degree of concentration of that industry in Hamilton compared to to Ontario. compares the degree of concentration of that industry in Hamilton compared Ontario. 1 1 means meansthat that the number of jobs in that industry in Hamilton is in exactly the same proportion as found in Ontario as the number of jobs in that industry in Hamilton is in exactly the same proportion as found in Ontario as a a whole. 2 means that industry has twice the proportion of jobs in Hamilton as found in Ontario, while whole. 2 means that industry has twice the proportion of jobs in Hamilton as found in Ontario, while.5 means half. The horizontal axis shows the percentage change in the number of jobs in that industry.5 means half. The horizontal axis shows the percentage change in the number of jobs in that industry between 2001 and between 2001 and Chart ten Chart1: 1:Size Sizeof ofindustry, industry,location locationquotient quotient and and growth growth between between and and of of the the top top ten industries by number of jobs in Hamilton industries by number of jobs in Hamilton 2 Health care & social assistance Educational services 1.5 Manufacturing Retail trade Other services Transportation & warehousing 0.5 Accommodation & food 10 Wholesale trade Public administration Professional, scientific & technical services =1000 employees 0 3 Page 10 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

13 The top right quadrant of the chart defines those industries that are more prominent in Hamilton and The top right of the chartindefines those industries thatand aresocial moreassistance, prominenteducational in HamiltonServices, and thatquadrant have positive growth employment (Health Care that have positive growth in employment (Health Care and Assistance, Educational Services, Accommodation and Food, and Other Services). TheSocial bottom right quadrant also signifies growth Accommodation and Food, and Other Services). The bottom right quadrant also signifies growth industries, but those that are disproportionately smaller in Hamilton (Professional, Scientific and industries, but those that are disproportionately smaller in Hamilton (Professional, Scientific and Technical Technical Services, Public Administration, and Wholesale Sale). Two industries (Retail Trade, Services, Public Administration, and Wholesale Sale). Two industries (Retail Trade, Transportation and Transportation and Warehousing) straddle the middle, meaning hardly any growth and present in Warehousing) straddle the middle, meaning hardly any growth and present in Hamilton in the same Hamilton in the same proportion as that industry in Ontario. Finally, Manufacturing, the single largest proportion as that industry in Ontario. Finally, Manufacturing, the single largest industry by number of industry by number of jobs in Hamilton, has seen a decline in employment of approximately 14% jobs in Hamilton, has seen a decline in employment of approximately 14% between 2001 and between 2001 and There is a reason why Hamilton has often been called Steel City. While Manufacturing is the most is a reason has often been called Steel City. While Manufacturing is the most prominentthere industry, amongwhy thehamilton 21 sub-sectors in manufacturing, Hamilton is particularly prominent industry, among the 21 Quotient: sub-sectors8.4), in manufacturing, Hamilton is particularly prominent for for primaryprominent metal manufacturing (Location and within that sub-sector, Iron and Steel primary metal manufacturing (Location Quotient: 8.4), and within that sub-sector, Iron and Steel Mills stands out (Location Quotient: 16.4). That is, employment in iron and steel mills in Hamilton as Mills stands out (Location Quotient: 16.4). That is, employment in iron and steel mills in Hamilton a proportion of all jobs in Hamilton is sixteen times larger than the proportion for Ontario. Chart 2 as a proportion allthe jobsmanufacturing in Hamilton is sixteen times with largeronly thanthose the proportion for Ontario. Chart illustrates the status ofofall sub-sectors, more prominent in terms of2 statusinofthe all chart. the manufacturing sub-sectors, with only those more prominent in terms of either size illustrates or growththe named either size or growth named in the chart. Chart 2: Size of industry, location quotient and growth between and 2006 of of manufacturing subchart 2: Size of industry, location quotient and growth between and 2006 manufacturing sub-sector industries in Hamilton sector industries in Hamilton 10 9 =1000 employees Primary metal Food manufacturing 3 Machinery manufacturing 2 Fabricated metal Transportation equipment Wood product Furniture product Page IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 11

14 Employment by occupations among Hamilton residents Another way to profile employment in Hamilton is by what occupations residents are employed in. Not all of these jobs are in Hamilton, as some residents will commute outside Hamilton for work. But the majority of residents work in Hamilton and an analysis of their occupations provides another way of understanding the Hamilton economy. Table 2 provides the number and proportion of Hamilton residents by major occupational categories, compared to Toronto, Ontario, and Ontario minus Toronto (Toronto s concentration of corporate headquarters, banking and securities, and creative industries can distort the Ontario numbers a fairer context for Hamilton is to compare it to the Ontario numbers without Toronto). Table 2: Employed residents by major occupational categories, employment in industries, Hamilton and Ontario, 2006 TORONTO MINUS TORONTO TOTAL ALL OCCUPATIONS 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Management Occupations 9.1% 10.9% 10.6% 10.5% Business, Finance and Administration Occupations 16.5% 20.7% 18.7% 18.2% Natural and Applied Sciences 5.4% 8.2% 7.1% 6.8% Health Occupations 6.7% 5.1% 5.4% 5.5% Social Science, Education, Government Service 8.7% 9.7% 8.5% 8.3% Occupations in Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport 2.5% 5.3% 3.0% 2.5% Sales and Service Occupations 24.4% 22.5% 23.2% 23.3% Trades, Transport and Equipment Operators 17.1% 10.2% 14.0% 15.0% Occupations Unique to Primary Industry 2.4% 0.6% 2.5% 3.0% Processing, Manufacturing & Utilities Occupations 7.2% 6.9% 7.0% 7.0% Certain occupations are less pronounced among Hamilton residents: Management; Business, Finance and Administration; and Natural and Applied Sciences. Two occupations which show larger proportions among Hamilton residents are in Health and in Processing, Manufacturing & Utilities. There are 520 occupations defined under the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Another way to cluster these occupations is as follows: 1 Knowledge workers jobs that absolutely require a university degree or a three-year college diploma or a highly refined skill; Middle jobs jobs that typically do not require a post-secondary degree but which do require some skill, usually acquired through several years of work or through apprenticeship; and Entry-level jobs jobs that typically require a high school diploma, but otherwise require no experience, as well as the next-level job immediately accessible after a short period in an entry-level job. 1 This classification approach is described in greater detail in Tom Zizys, An Economy Out of Shape: Changing the Hourglass, Toronto Workforce Innovation Group, IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

15 The Middle and Entry-level jobs are further divided by broad industrial sector: Service sector: occupations engaged in the provision of services; Working sector: occupations engaged in manufacturing, the trades and transportation; Primary sector: occupations engaged in agriculture, fishing, farming, and oil and mining. Table 3 displays the distribution of occupations in which Hamilton residents were employed in 2006, using the skill/sector framework described above. To provide a context, comparisons are made with Toronto and Ontario minus Toronto. Toronto has such a high proportion of Knowledge Workers that the figures for Ontario do not properly reflect the distinct labour markets that exist in Toronto and the rest of Ontario. Table 3: Distribution of employed residents by the skills/sector framework, Hamilton, Toronto and Ontario minus Toronto, 2006 TORONTO MINUS TORONTO Knowledge Work 29.9% 40.7% 32.3% Middle Service 11.5% 11.3% 12.3% Service Entry 31.0% 29.6% 29.5% Middle Working 13.9% 8.5% 12.0% Working Entry 11.3% 9.4% 10.9% Middle Primary 0.7% 0.1% 1.3% Primary Entry 1.7% 0.5% 1.7% TOTAL 100.0% 100.1% 100.0% Hamilton residents are somewhat more likely to be employed in Working sector jobs and in Service Entry jobs than residents in Ontario excluding Toronto, and somewhat less likely to be employed in Knowledge Work jobs. Chart 3: Distribution of employed residents by the skills/sector framework, Hamilton, Toronto and Ontario minus Toronto, % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Hamilton Ontario minus Toronto Toronto Primary Entry Middle Primary Working Entry Middle Working Service Entry Middle Service Knowledge Work IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 13

16 Future key industry clusters for Hamilton The current mix of industries and occupations in Hamilton provide a context for appreciating labour market prospects for newcomers. Another consideration is where one might anticipate employment growth. As part of the City of Hamilton s Economic Development Strategy, six industry clusters have been identified as areas where Hamilton wishes to concentrate its efforts toward business attraction and growth. These clusters, in order of priority, are: Advanced Manufacturing (refers to the new techniques and machines combined with information technology, microelectronics and new organizational practices, resulting in innovative and cost-effective manufacturing processes) Agribusiness and Food Processing (includes primary production as well as foodservice providers, food manufacturers and non-food products and services) Clean Technology (companies which design, develop or manufacture products or services which reduce negative environmental impacts; includes alternative energy generation, energy efficiency, manufacturing, waste and recycling, and so on) Creative Industries (activities that focus on creating and leveraging value from intellectual property products such as music, books, film and games; or providing business-to-business creative services including design, architecture, advertising, public relations, broadcasting, printing, computer programming, publishing, multimedia, audio-visual, photographic, digital media, as well as crafts. This sector also includes festivals, visual and performing arts) Goods Movement (delivering goods and services to and from manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers) Life Sciences (the application of scientific tools and techniques in research, development and manufacturing, including pharmaceutics, gene therapy, clinical trials, biotechnology and nanotechnology) 14 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

17 Several of these clusters cross a number of industries and occupations but are nevertheless capable of being quantified. For example, the goods movement industry, also known as the supply chain sector, crosses such industry sectors as wholesale trade, retail trade and transportation and warehousing. According to the Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council, the Hamilton CMA s supply chain sector resident labour force is the second largest in the province, and makes up a comparable proportion of Hamilton CMA s labour force as the Toronto CMA (4.8% compared to 5.1%). Table 4: Size of supply chain sector labour force, select Ontario census metropolitan areas, 2001, 2006 and Hamilton Kingston Kitchener London Oshawa Ottawa-Gatineau (Ont.) St. Catharines - Niagara Sudbury Thunder Bay Toronto Windsor Similarly, one can arrive at an estimate for employment in the creative industries and provide a context for the relative importance for this industry in Hamilton compared to other Ontario benchmarks. One approach, 3 called the creative trident, identifies three strands that make up the creative workforce: Specialist artists, professionals or creative individuals working in creative/culture industries (i.e. the core culture jobs); Support staff in those creative/culture industries providing management, secretarial, administrative or accountancy back-up; and Embedded creative/culture staff, those individuals working in creative occupations in other industries not defined as creative or culture. The list of occupations considered creative occupations and the list of industries considered creative industries is provided in Appendix A of this report. Relying on this approach results in the following mapping of the creative industry in Hamilton. Table 5: Employment in the creative sector, City of Hamilton, 2006 EMPLOYMENT IN CREATIVE INDUSTRIES EMPLOYMENT IN OTHER INDUSTRIES TOTAL EMPLOYMENT Creative occupations Support occupations in creative industries TOTAL The Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council has a labour market data web tool that provides supply chain sector labour force data for Canada. Their website is < 3 Drawn from Peter Higgs, Stuart Cunningham and Hasan Bakhshi, Beyond the creative industries: Mapping the creative economy in the United Kingdom, NESTA Technical report: February IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 15

18 As a proportion of all jobs that exist in Hamilton (see Table 1), the creative sector makes up 4.0%. This pales in comparison to the City of Toronto, where 9.2% of jobs are in the creative sector, however it is not too far off the average for the rest of Ontario, which stands at 4.6%. Profile of immigrants and newcomers in Hamilton Hamilton receives a slightly lower proportion of immigrants to Ontario. Whereas the population of the City of Hamilton represents roughly 4.1% of the Ontario population, the proportion of immigrants coming to Ontario who choose to reside in Hamilton falls somewhat short of that figure: Table 6: Immigrants Coming to Ontario who chose to reside in Hamilton Period Number % of Ontario immigration 2.89% 2.55% 3.07% Source regions The profile of who comes to Hamilton is noticeably different from the pattern for Ontario as a whole. Among major source regions, Hamilton receives proportionately fewer newcomers from Southern Asia (e.g., Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and Eastern Asia (e.g., China, Hong Kong), while in turn receiving disproportionately more newcomers from the Middle East (e.g., Iraq, Turkey), West Central Asia (e.g., Afghanistan), Eastern Europe (e.g. former Soviet Union, Romania), Southern Europe (e.g., former Yugoslavia) and Africa (e.g., Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe). Data for immigration from these regions is provided below: Table 7: Some select regions of birth for recent immigrants, Hamilton and Ontario, NUMBER ARRIVING TO PERCENT OF ALL RECENT IMMIGRANTS TO NUMBER ARRIVING TO PERCENT OF ALL RECENT IMMIGRANTS TO West Central Asia/Middle East % % Southern Asia % % Eastern Asia % % Eastern Europe % % Eastern Africa % % United States % % Southern Europe % % Northern Africa % % The figures for other source regions where the proportions for Hamilton and Ontario are roughly equal are not included in this table. 16 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

19 Educational attainment Hamilton also differs in the level of educational attainment of the immigrants who have settled here. On average, immigrants who choose to live in Hamilton have lower levels of educational attainment than those in the broad Greater Toronto Area. However, the gap in educational attainment has been shrinking with each successive cohort of immigrants. This characteristic can be expressed in two ways, firstly, by those who have no educational certificate (Chart 4). Chart 4: Percentage of immigrants aged 15 years and older with no educational certificate Percentage with no educational certificate, successive immigrant cohorts, select Ontario regions, pre Prior to 1996, 41% of immigrants 4 to Hamilton had no educational certificate (that is, not even a high school diploma). The spread between the area 5 with the highest such figure (Hamilton at 41%) and that with the lowest (Ottawa at 22%) was 19% (almost double). For newcomers arriving between 2001 and 2006, Hamilton s high figure dropped to 18.4%, only 3.6% higher than Ottawa s low of 14.8%. This trend can also be expressed in terms of immigrants holding a university Bachelor s degree or higher, where the figures also show comparative improvement for Hamilton, although not at the same scale. Chart 5 illustrates how the percentage of immigrants with university degrees increased substantially during the periods and However, even though Hamilton s numbers also climbed, its figure of 35.4% is 5% less than the next lowest regions compared (York region at 40.4% and Durham region at 40.5%) and almost 10% less than that for Peel-Halton region (44.2%). 4 This figure relates to all immigrants 15 years and older, whether or not they are in the labour force. 5 Each of these areas refers to the jurisdiction of the relevant training board. In the case of Hamilton, it is the Hamilton Training Advisory Board. IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 17

20 Chart 5: Percentage of immigrants aged 15 years and older with Bachelor s degree or higher Percentage with Bachelor degree or higher, successive immigrant cohorts, select Ontario regions, Peel-Halton Toronto Waterloo York Durham Hamilton pre Some other characteristics Some more detailed data about newcomers is available via Statistics Canada on-line, however this free resource only makes data available for the Census Metropolitan Area. The Hamilton CMA includes the City of Hamilton plus the City of Burlington and the Town of Grimsby. Among newcomers who settled in the Hamilton CMA between 2001 and 2006, 80% chose the City of Hamilton as their home, so the CMA data on recent newcomers for the Hamilton CMA should paint a fairly accurate of the newcomers in the City of Hamilton. Visible minority status. Partly as a way to check the applicability of the data, the visible minority status of newcomers for the Hamilton CMA and Ontario are compared in Table 8. These Hamilton CMA figures correspond to the data relating countries of origin for newcomers to the City of Hamilton: a smaller proportion of South Asians and Chinese compared to Ontario and larger proportion of Arab (West Central Asia/Middle East) and non-visible minority populations (Eastern Europeans and likely the United States). Table 8: Visible minority status, immigrants arriving between 2001 and 2006, Hamilton CMA and Ontario VISIBLE MINORITY STATUS CMA Chinese 9.8% 15.1% South Asian 18.3% 29.7% Black 8.8% 7.5% Filipino 3.8% 6.4% Latin American 6.4% 4.5% Southeast Asian 1.8% 1.6% Arab 8.2% 3.9% West Asian 3.7% 4.5% Korean 2.9% 2.8% Japanese 0.1% 0.3% Visible minority, not included 0.6% 1.0% Multiple visible minority 1.5% 1.1% Not a visible minority 33.9% 21.7% 18 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

21 Major fields of study. Newcomers to the Hamilton CMA differ in some small but notable ways from the Ontario average as far as their post-secondary fields of study are concerned: Table 9: Major fields of study, newcomers arriving between 2001 and 2006, aged 25 to 54 years old, Hamilton CMA and Ontario MAJOR FIELD OF STUDY CMA MINUS TORONTO CMA Education 4.9% 4.3% 4.9% Visual and performing arts, and communications 2.7% 2.8% 2.7% Humanities 5.5% 6.9% 6.4% Social and behavioural sciences and law 9.5% 9.4% 9.8% Business, management and public administration 19.0% 22.1% 18.9% Physical and life sciences and technologies 6.2% 6.1% 6.8% Mathematics, computer & information sciences 6.0% 8.5% 7.7% Architecture, engineering, and related fields 29.4% 25.5% 25.9% Agriculture, natural resources and conservation 1.7% 1.8% 2.6% Health, parks, recreation and fitness 12.7% 10.6% 11.8% Personal, protective and transportation services 2.5% 1.9% 2.5% TOTAL 100.1% 99.9% 100.0% Hamilton CMA newcomers are somewhat less likely to hold degrees in Mathematics, Computer and Information Sciences or Humanities. Conversely, they are much more likely to hold degrees in Architecture, Engineering, and Related Technologies. The proportion of Hamilton newcomers with degrees in Business, Management and Public Administration is comparable to that of Ontario minus the Toronto CMA, though the Toronto CMA has higher proportions. Field of study cross-tabbed by source country. Average figures hide the dynamics that are experienced by particular groups. If one unpacks the newcomer data on major field of study to examine it by newcomer source country, one finds patterns that cannot be explained unless one connects directly with these communities to examine why they chose the destinations they did. Table 10: Select fields of study for several source countries, for immigrants to Hamilton CMA and Ontario, comparing pre-1991 arrivals with newcomers ( ) Business, management and public administration Before Before Eastern Asia 15.4% 16.2% 25.3% 20.6% Southern Asia 14.8% 19.6% 21.5% 24.5% Western Asia 22.4% 22.0% 21.4% 15.0% Architecture and engineering Before Before Eastern Asia 24.5% 40.3% 20.4% 31.7% Southern Asia 23.0% 21.1% 23.0% 19.8% Western Asia 25.3% 31.0% 27.4% 28.8% IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 19

22 Eyeballing the data, comparing trends between Hamilton and Ontario for immigrants with different fields of study and coming from different source countries, one is hard-pressed to find a pattern. For example, immigrants to Ontario from Eastern and Southern Asia have higher proportions of degrees in Business, Management and Public Administration, but those proportions are notably lower for immigrants from these source countries coming to the Hamilton CMA, while immigrants coming from Western Asia to the Hamilton CMA have higher proportions of those degrees than the provincial average, especially for recent newcomers. On the other hand, the patterns for those with Architecture and Engineering degrees do seem to hold when comparing Hamilton CMA and Ontario. What draws certain individuals to a given locale requires further qualitative investigation, having regard for different source countries and different fields of study. Labour market outcomes Labour market outcomes generally for newcomers to Canada It is well-established that newcomers to Canada have poorer labour market outcomes compared to Canadian-born workers, as well as earlier cohorts of immigrants, despite high levels of post-secondary academic qualifications and previous work experience. In particular, newcomers have: Higher levels of unemployment; Higher levels of working in occupations for which they are over-qualified; Poorer outcomes for women; Outcomes that vary by country of birth; Lower employment incomes which do rise over time, but the trajectory of income increases has been falling with each successive wave of immigrants. A lot of attention has been focused on internationally trained professionals who have difficulty landing jobs in their field. Of newcomers with foreign credentials, only 28% had received recognition of these credentials within four years of landing. 6 This results in their accepting employment in jobs below their level of educational attainment, sometimes low-paying, dead-end entry-level work. Those with more limited educational backgrounds and/or with significant English language difficulties often end up in contingent, casual work or sub-standard, informal employment (being paid off the books or engaged in hidden self-employment). 6 Rene Houle and Labouaria Yssaad, Recognition of newcomers foreign credentials and work experience, Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. 11, No. 9, Statistics Canada Catalogue No X, p IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

23 The match rates between professional degrees and employment in those occupations vary by profession. Table 11: Match rates for select professions, Canadian-born and immigrants to Canada, CANADIAN-BORN FOREIGN-EDUCATED IMMIGRANTS All fields of study 62% 24% Chiropractics 87% 84% Occupational therapy 82% 65% Medicine 92% 56% Nursing 73% 56% Pharmacy 84% 45% Dentistry 82% 44% Physiotherapy 90% 44% Optometry 95% 38% Veterinary medicine 83% 29% Architecture 56% 26% Teaching 50% 24% Diet/Nutrition 62% 20% Accounting 60% 20% Engineering 42% 19% Law 69% 12% Below the bolded line, match rates for immigrants are less than half those for Canadian-born holders of the same degree. Immigrants refer to all immigrants, regardless how long they had been in Canada. Summary of the literature on labour market outcomes of newcomers to Canada The labour market obstacles that newcomers face in Canada has provoked an extensive array of studies which has resulted in considerable consensus both in describing the challenges and in proposing broader strategies for addressing these challenges. This consensus can be described as follows: 8 Language proficiency is an extremely important qualification for employment; this goes beyond common conversational ability to include proficiency in the vocational field as well as an appreciation of Canadian forms of communication (tone, body language, nuances); Foreign work experience is widely discounted, except for those with pre-arranged jobs or those whose work experience was in the United States or the United Kingdom; Bridging programs for internationally trained professionals are very helpful, perhaps not always in helping access employment directly, but certainly in terms of helping newcomers understand the Canadian labour market, develop contacts and better understand how their chosen profession is practiced in Canada; Getting employment quickly is generally a good idea, but attention has to be paid to ensuring there are pathways to better jobs; 7 Danielle Zietsma, Immigrants working in regulated occupations, Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. XI, No. 2, A bibliography of studies relied upon for this summary can be found in Appendix B of this report. IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 21

24 Factors that contribute to job market success: Acquiring Canadian work experience; Developing networks and contacts to access job opportunities; Acquiring an understanding of and fluidity with Canadian business culture and workplace norms On the demand side, many employers: Do not believe that their current strategies for integrating internationally educated professionals are effective; Do not believe that they have effectively developed the cultural intelligence skills of their frontline managers; Understand the best practices for integrating internationally educated professionals, but face barriers relating to cost and feasibility, especially among small and medium-sized employers. Analysis at the broad occupational level (1-digit NOC level) of labour market outcomes for immigrants and newcomers to Hamilton An analysis of the occupations that immigrants and newcomers find themselves in starts at the broadest level. All occupations are classified according to the National Occupational Classification, encompassing some 520 occupations. These are grouped into 10 broad occupational categories. Immigrants and newcomers are distributed in different proportions across these main occupational categories in Hamilton, compared to their distribution in Ontario. Table 12: Percentage distribution of immigrants and newcomers among employed workers by broad occupational categories, Hamilton and Ontario, 2006 % IMMIGRANTS % % IMMIGRANTS % ALL OCCUPATIONS 21.9% 3.6% 24.8% 5.5% MANAGEMENT OCCUPATIONS 21.7% 2.8% 25.5% 3.7% BUSINESS, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION 17.1% 2.1% 25.5% 4.8% NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OCCUPATIONS 24.2% 5.5% 31.8% 9.5% HEALTH OCCUPATIONS 26.3% 3.6% 26.0% 4.8% OCCUPATIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE, EDUCATION, GOV MENT 18.1% 3.6% 19.7% 3.9% OCCUPATIONS IN ART, CULTURE, RECREATION AND SPORT 16.5% 2.1% 20.2% 3.5% SALES AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 20.1% 3.8% 22.5% 6.1% TRADES, TRANSPORT AND EQUIPMENT OPERATORS 25.1% 3.2% 24.8% 4.6% OCCUPATIONS UNIQUE TO PRIMARY INDUSTRY 21.3% 3.8% 13.1% 2.2% PROCESSING, MANUFACTURING & UTILITIES OCCUPATIONS 32.9% 6.6% 34.3% 9.8% 22 IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN

25 Overall, the proportion of employed immigrants as a proportion of employed Hamilton residents (21.9%) is close to the figure for Ontario as a whole (24.8%), however the proportion of newcomers is substantially smaller (3.6% compared to 5.5%). This reflects the proportionately lower proportion of newcomers coming to Ontario who are choosing to reside in Hamilton. We can compare the proportion of immigrants/newcomers in a given occupation in Hamilton to the proportion for Ontario as a whole by expressing the percentages as a ratio (see Table 13). Thus, the proportion of immigrants employed in all occupations in Hamilton (21.9%) compared to the proportion in Ontario as a whole (24.8%) is 0.88 (21.9/24.8). Similarly, the proportion of immigrants in Health Occupations in Hamilton (26.3%) compared to Ontario (26.0%) as a whole is 1.01 (26.3/26.0). That figure tells us that the proportion of immigrants employed in Health Occupations in Hamilton is about the same as that found in Ontario as a whole (1.01 is just about 1), yet it is somewhat larger than the proportion of immigrants found in all occupations in Hamilton (1.01 compared to 0.88). What this means is that immigrants to Hamilton end up being slightly over-represented in Health Occupations, compared to their proportion in the workforce. Table 13: Ratio of employed Hamilton immigrants and newcomers by broad occupational categories compared to Ontario, 2006 IMMIGRANTS ALL OCCUPATIONS MANAGEMENT OCCUPATIONS BUSINESS, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OCCUPATIONS HEALTH OCCUPATIONS OCCUPATIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE, EDUCATION, GOV MENT OCCUPATIONS IN ART, CULTURE, RECREATION AND SPORT SALES AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS TRADES, TRANSPORT AND EQUIPMENT OPERATORS OCCUPATIONS UNIQUE TO PRIMARY INDUSTRY PROCESSING, MANUFACTURING & UTILITIES OCCUPATIONS Each number represents the ratio between the proportion of immigrants or newcomers employed in an occupation in Hamilton compared to the proportion for Ontario as a whole. The colour coding shows where that ratio is roughly similar to the ratio for all occupations in Hamilton (yellow), somewhat higher (green) or lower (pink). (Charts 6 and 7 illustrate the ratios graphically.) IMMIGRANTS AND THE LABOUR MARKET IN 23