The study found 2006 unemployment levels among immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006 was 11.5 per cent, as compared with 4.9 per cent among the Canadian-born population.The federal agency suggested that a lack of Canadian work experience, language barriers and unrecognized foreign credentials posed the largest barriers to integrating new immigrants into the workforce.The study notes that unemployment rates in 2006 fell to 7.3 per cent among immigrants who had been in the country between five and 10 years.
New immigrants fare better in Alberta
Newly landed immigrants in Alberta fared the best in Canada, owing to the province's booming economy and labour demands, the report suggests.
"The unemployment rate among very recent immigrants living in Alberta (those who became landed immigrants to Canada between 2001 and 2006) was 5.8 per cent in 2006; less than half the national average for this group," Statistics Canada said in a release.
