News Release

Immigrant 'brain waste' weakening economy, says professor

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Toronto

Skilled immigrants driving cabs or flipping burgers are costing the Canadian economy up to $15 billion, says a University of Toronto study.

"Canada is moving into the knowledge economy, yet there has been a 'brain waste' of immigrant professionals because we are not putting their skills into practice," says Professor Jeffrey Reitz, author of Immigrant Skill Utilization in the Canadian Labour Market: Implications of Human Capital Research. "The Canadian economy is losing up to $2.4 billion because immigrants' skills are underutilized and up to $12.6 billion because they are underpaid."

Using 1996 census data as well as data from labour force surveys, Reitz compared the earnings of immigrants to those of native-born Canadians using factors such as years and types of education, work experience, knowledge of the English language and ethnic or racial background. He found that immigrants receive on average half to two-thirds less in earnings for their educational and work experience than native-born Canadians.

What is needed is a better 'mutual orientation' for both immigrants and their prospective employers, says Reitz, a sociology and industrial relations professor. "Helping Canadian employers deal with the real and very practical problems of using the new global workforce could be a low-cost way of dramatically improving returns from our investment in immigration."

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The study (http://www.utoronto.ca/ethnicstudies/research.htm), published in the March issue of the Journal of International Migration and Integration, was commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

CONTACT: Professor Jeffrey Reitz, Department of Sociology and Centre for Industrial Relations, 416-978-5692, jeffrey.reitz@utoronto.ca or Sue Toye, U of T public affairs, 416-978-4289, sue.toye@utoronto.ca


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