Immigrant–non‐immigrant wage differentials in Canada

A comparison between standard and non‐standard jobs

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9954576
AutoresDanielle Lamb (0000-0003-1526-9793, Ted Rogers School of Management Ryerson University Toronto ON Canada, autor correspondente), Rupa Banerjee (0000-0002-3753-4933, Ted Rogers School of Management Ryerson University Toronto ON Canada), Anil Verma (0000-0001-9101-4958, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human, Resources and Rotman School of Management University of Toronto Toronto ON Canada), Anil Kumar Verma (0000-0002-7167-4323, University of Toronto)
Ano2021
Volume59
Fascículo5
Páginas113-133
Data de publicação2021-01-15
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.12808
OpenAlexW3120010412
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas12
Referências citadas43

It is well established that recent immigrants earn considerably less than their native‐born counterparts even after adjusting for differences in human capital. Another labour market trend has been the growth in non‐standard forms of employment. Since non‐standard forms of work are generally less desirable than standard jobs on a number of dimensions including earnings, this study examines the nexus between immigrant earnings and non‐standard employment to investigate if there is a systemic connection between the two trends. Consistent with earlier research evidence, we find a substantial earnings disadvantage associated with all forms of non‐standard work relative to full‐time, permanent employment. Conditioning on observable characteristics, immigrants are less likely to be employed in full‐time, permanent work. However, when we examine workers in non‐standard jobs, we find that immigrant–non‐immigrant earnings gaps are smaller than those observed among workers in standard jobs. Moreover, the unadjusted mean earnings of long‐term immigrants in part‐time jobs are actually higher than the earnings of similarly employed Canadian‐born workers. Finally, considering immigrants from Western and non‐Western countries, we find that the earnings disadvantage of non‐Western immigrants in non‐standard jobs is smaller than the earnings disadvantage of non‐Western immigrants in standard jobs. These findings suggest that non‐standard jobs provide a point of entry for many new immigrants into the Canadian labour market. But whether these jobs are a bridge to upward mobility or whether they act as traps from which immigrants are unable to escape is a question that needs to be answered with better longitudinal data that track specific cohorts of workers

Demographic economics · Disadvantage · Earnings · Earnings growth · Economic growth · Economics · Human capital · Immigration · Labour economics · Nexus (standard · Political science · Wage · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Migration and Labor Dynamics