Don't misinterpret these trends. That's the message contained in a recent review of the labour market success of economic immigrants conducted by David Cobey of the Applied Research Branch. The review discovered that the traditional specific criteria of intended occupation and arranged employment are still key elements of success. Arranged Employment Arranged employment is also a significant element in employment success of economic immigrants. Economic immigrants who landed with arranged employment reported higher average incomes and lower unemployment insurance use than those who entered Canada without arranged employment.
Arranged employment gives immigrants a solid head start.
The proportion of economic immigrants reporting earned income is also higher among those who landed with arranged employment. And it took seven years for the proportion of immigrants claiming earned income who landed without arranged employment to reach a level equivalent to those who landed with arranged employment. Similarly, the proportion of economic immigrants declaring unemployment insurance income is more than 1.5 times greater among those who landed without arranged employment. This higher level of unemployment insurance persists after ten years in Canada. HRDC's General Occupations List, detailing those occupations open to prospective skilled immigrants, is a valuable component of the selection process.