The healthcare and social assistance sectors had the highest retention rates of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) who become permanent residents, according to a new report by Statistics Canada.
The study by Stats Can found that the retention rate—the percentage of TFWs who remained working in the same sector after having received permanent residency (PR)—varied dramatically across sectors.
Which industries had the highest retention rates?
The below table shows the percentage of TFWs who remained working in the same sector after receiving PR during the years 2011-2015, for the industries with the highest retention rates.
| Industry | Percentage of workers who remained in the industry one year after receiving PR | Percentage of workers who remained in the industry five years after receiving PR |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 81.4% | 64.9% |
| Utilities | 80.3% | 58% |
| Finance and insurance | 77.1% | 55.2% |
| Public administration | 72% | 51.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 70.4% | 49% |
| Manufacturing | 74% | 48.9% |
| Construction | 70% | 47.3% |
Which industries had the lowest retention rates?
Some industries had significantly lower retention rates, as shown in the table below:
| Industry | Percentage of workers who remained in the industry one year after receiving PR | Percentage of workers who remained in the industry five years after receiving PR |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 36.7% | 8.7% |
| Real estate, rental and leasing | 46.2% | 19.4% |
| Other services | 45.5% | 20% |
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 54.3% | 21% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 52.8% | 24.1% |
Why is the retention rate important?
Industry retention is important because PR is often granted on the basis of occupation, which is linked to meeting labour market needs.
Having workers remain in such industries is important to alleviate labour shortages in specific sectors and regions.
Industry retention is also more efficient for both businesses and individuals, as less resources are wasted on retraining.
Why do workers change industries?
Factors that could lead workers to change industries include:
- Wage levels;
- Working conditions;
- Job stability; and
- Specific skill requirements.
Industry retention rates tend to be higher among more engaged employees, so a low retention rate could indicate lesser satisfaction among workers.
What was the overall retention rate?
The study found that 68.4% of TFWs remained in the same sector where they worked as work permit holders, a year after becoming permanent residents.
This fell to 43% for TFWs in the same industry five years after getting their PR.
How does the work permit program affect the retention rate?
There was a big difference in industry retention rates according to work permit programs.
To break it down, the highest retention rates could be found from higher-skilled temporary foreign worker program participants (53.4%), and intra company transferees (51.4%).
Those from the live-in caregiver program had the lowest retention rate by year five of getting their PR (28.6%).
How was the study conducted?
The study looked at TFWs who held paid employment as work permit holders for work purposes (WPPRs), and made the transition to PR between 2011-2015.
Reasons that individuals are showed to have moved out of the industry included
- shifting to another industry;
- starting their own business (becoming self-employed);
- being unemployed; or
- not appearing in tax records.
