More Canadian immigrants are being hired for jobs that fit their qualifications

June 28, 2024

A new Statistics Canada (StatsCan) report suggests that over qualification among Canadian immigrants is decreasing.

Over qualification describes what occurs when immigrants to Canada are hired for jobs where their education and/or work experience is too advanced for their role.

According to a StatsCan report published on May 22, among recent immigrants with at least a bachelor’s degree, the number of immigrants working “in jobs fitting their qualifications” has increased by 4.4% between Canada’s last two censuses*.

*This is according to a comparison of census data in 2016 and 2021.

Note: StatsCan also revealed a decrease in the percentage of “over-educated” recent immigrants over the same period. According to 2016 census data, 31.1% of recent immigrants were over-educated for their jobs. This number decreased to 26.7% in the 2021 census.

Understanding the history of over qualification in Canada

Overqualification has been a long-standing issue for recent Canadian immigrants.

Going back as far as 2001, StatsCan data reveals that the rate of recent immigrants’ “education-occupation mismatch” has been inconsistent.

In 2001, 28.7% of recent immigrants were overeducated for their occupation.

In five-year increments, that number fluctuated as follows:

  • 2006: 32.9%
  • 2011: 27.8%
  • 2016: 31.1%
  • 2021: 26.7%
Source: Read more here