Immigrants hardest hit by recent recession, study says

Published On Fri Jul 15 2011

Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter

Immigrants, particularly recent newcomers, have borne the brunt of unemployment as a result of the recent recession, a new study says.

The unemployment gap between immigrant and Canadian-born workers has grown since the global economic meltdown set off in late 2008 and newcomers in Greater Toronto were most affected, says the study being released Friday.

It is part of a project by the Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative, made up of researchers from York University, University of Toronto and Ryerson University who study immigrant integration in the labour force based on government data.

“Recent newcomers already experience significant marginalization in the labour market. What is surprising is they are more badly affected than the other groups and the gap has kept widening,â€