Working In a Regulated Occupation in Canada: An Immigrant–Native Born Comparison

The number of immigrants working in regulated and unregulated occupations in Canada is unknown. A major contribution of this study is that we use the 2006 Census of Canada to classify occupations, across provinces, into regulated and unregulated categories and then to examine the covariates of membership in a regulated occupation. In aggregate, immigrants are slightly less likely to work in a regulated occupation. Immigrants educated in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean prove to be much less likely to secure access to a regulated occupation than either the native born or other immigrants.