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

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

Overqualification 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.

Understanding the history of overqualification 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%