Detalles del documento

Temporary foreign worker programs are typically seen as short-term solutions to shortages of regional or occupational labor. During the past decade, Canadian regions experienced unequal economic growth and some suffered from significant excess labor demand. The Canadian temporary foreign worker program was thus expanded and conditions to access it made easier. During the same period, wide regional discrepancies in unemployment rates persisted. This paper shows that some of the persistence is due to the increased availability of temporary foreign workers. This suggests that policy makers did not price them correctly to avoid adverse effects on the Canadian labor market.