Unemployment four times higher among university-educated newcomers, says national report card

OTTAWA (Oct. 5, 2010) - Despite the fact that Canada will soon rely on immigration to replenish its shrinking labour force, newcomers with professional credentials are suffering unacceptably high unemployment rates, in comparison to non-immigrants with the same level of education, says Canada's Vital Signs 2010, the annual report card on quality of life from Community Foundations of Canada.

In 2009, recent immigrants (lived in Canada for five years and less) with a university education had an unemployment rate that was 4.1 times higher (13.9%) than that of Canadian-born workers with a university degree (3.4%).

"It's disheartening to see such a significant gap among well-educated newcomers; their experience in our labour market is dramatically different than that of non-immigrants with a comparable education level," said Monica Patten, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada.

"Integrating newcomers into our workplaces is a necessity, not an option - our country is going to rely on immigrants for all of our net labour force growth as early as next year. We need to act now," said Dianne Fehr, Executive Director of the Immigrant Access Fund Society of Alberta.

The Immigrant Access Fund offers micro-loans to immigrants to assist them in their quest to obtain the Canadian accreditation or training they need to become gainfully employed in the career field established in their countries of origin. The fund was supported by The Calgary Foundation, one of the more than 170 community foundations in Canada.

"The majority of loan applicants are working in jobs well below their capabilities, simply in order to survive," said Fehr.

Other issues raised in Canada's Vital Signs 2010, a snapshot of how Canadian communities are faring in 10 key areas:

• Canadians who moved from renting to home ownership due to low interest rates are now carrying a great deal of debt and may find themselves struggling with only a small increase in mortgage rates. In 2008, the average price of a house in Canada was $303,607 and the median family income was $73,500, giving a housing price-to-income ratio of 4.13. That's compared to a national ratio of 3.20 just a decade ago.
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• The supply of doctors is rising, and more are women. The physician supply rate (number of physicians per 1,000 persons) has increased 6.5% since 1997.
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• Since the early 1990s, greenhouse gas emissions from personal vehicles have risen by almost onethird. Transportation currently produces a quarter of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.

Fifteen Local Reports Released Today
Vital Signs is part of a growing nation-wide initiative by Canadian community foundations to measure quality of life and take action to improve it. Today, 15 local Vital Signs report cards are being released by community foundations across Canada. A full list of this year's participants and their local reports can be found at www.vitalsignscanada.ca.

Watch for the release of the Vital Signs 2010 National Public Opinion Survey, commissioned by Community Foundations of Canada and conducted by the Environics Research Group, on Mon, Oct. 18.

About Community Foundations
Canada's 170 community foundations are local charitable foundations that help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work, and play. They are one of the largest supporters of Canadian charities, providing $140 million to local organizations in 2009. Find out more at www.cfc-fcc.ca.