According to a recent study in a series of economic and social reports which was released by Statistics Canada stated that, in Canada the employment of temporary foreign workers has become increasingly concentrated in sectors which offer low-paying jobs.
The study mentioned that only three sectors — accommodation and food services; retail trade and administrative and support, waste management and remediation services — accounted for more 40 per cent of all temporary foreign workers in recent years.
That percentage has increased from 33 per cent in 2010 to 45 per cent in 2019 and 43 per cent in 2020, this was when the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions affected work in accommodation and food services.
Authors Yuqian Lu and Feng Hou mentioned in the Statistics Canada report that, different industrial sectors mostly depend on temporary foreign workers to varying degrees because of the unique levels of labour shortages and specific skill requirements.
The report said that, the increased concentration in those three low-paying sectors is because of the large expansion in the amount of work and study permit holders, who are increasingly taking on jobs in those areas.
From 2010 to 2019 the number of permit holders under the temporary foreign worker program remained quite stable, while those working in the three sectors fell from 23 per cent to 14 per cent.
By comparison, Individuals who have work permits under the international mobility program have almost tripled in that time frame. The quantity of those working in the three sectors have also slightly increased from 42 per cent to 45 per cent.
In the meantime, the number of study permit holders who are reporting employment income has increased by nine-fold and the share working in the three sectors rose from 12 per cent to 65 per cent.
Other than the three sectors, certain temporary foreign workers were also employed in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting; manufacturing; professional, scientific and technical services and educational services.
These industries accounted for approximately 31 per cent of that total workforce in 2010, before declining to 28 per cent in 2020.
