Earnings Inequality and Earnings Instability of Immigrants in Canada

Yuri Ostrovsky, Statistics Canada

Most of the literature on immigrant labor market outcomes, both in Canada and the US, focuses on immigrants' entry wages and earnings growth. This study provides additional insights into the changing fortunes of immigrants in Canada by examining their earnings inequality and earnings instability. The analysis is based on a flexible econometric model which decomposes earnings inequality into current and long-term components. In addition to constructing earnings inequality and earnings instability profiles for different arrival cohorts, we also examine the underlying causes of earnings inequality including the impact of foreign education, birthplace and the ability to speak English or French.