Displacement

This research bulletin focuses on issues related to the (un)employment experiences of immigrants in the labour market and their potential impact on the economic well-being of resident Canadians. Immigration can potentially affect the economic well-being of Canadians in several ways. First, immigrants potentially can cause job displacement of Canadians, or immigrants can create jobs with complementary inputs. Immigrants can also possibly suppress the wages of Canadians if their labour services are perfectly substitutable for Canadian labour services, or raise Canadian wages if their labour supply is complementary to Canadians. Related labour-market issues include the formation of a segmented labour market with immigrant enclaves, and the public finance consequences of a large at-risk immigrant population. This literature review is designed to provide the policy maker with a concise summary of recent empirical results of these particular issues surrounding immigration and the labour market. Specifically, this research bulletin will address four main questions: a. Is the unemployment situation exacerbated by migration given the current situation of the host population and the economic conditions of the country? Secondly, what is the empirical evidence pertaining to the frequency, incidence, and duration of unemployment spells o