Data from global job site Indeed reveals that Indian job seekers are keen to explore work opportunities in Canada, with India replacing the US as the largest source of foreign clicks on its platform as of February 2022.

Job seekers from India grew in importance, with their share of clicks almost doubling to 17% in 2022 as compared to 9% in 2017. The US share of foreign clicks, however, slid from 40% in 2017 to 11% in February 2022.

Looking at foreign clicks more broadly, STEM-related postings get higher shares of interest from outside of Canada than other fields, led by software development, which this February received 22% of clicks from outside Canada.

Though India stands out, the rise in clicks share from abroad since the start of the pandemic has been broad-based. The share of foreign job seekers from a range of countries has jumped in the past two years. That includes countries in Asia besides India, such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh; in Africa, and especially North Africa; and in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“The Indian labour market is unique given its combination of size and integration into the global labour market. The popularity of Canadian job postings among Indian job seekers represents a noteworthy opportunity. Foreign migration has played a prominent role in the Canadian labour market in recent years, and with targets for permanent residency admissions set to rise, and a flourishing technology industry bolstered by programs like the Global Talent Stream, Indian job seekers are likely to continue to explore opportunities in Canada,” said Brendon Bernard, Senior Economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab.

“High levels of foreign interest in STEM fields have likely already contributed to rapid employment growth in professional occupations in the natural and applied sciences in recent years. The expanded footprint of foreign job seekers in Canada on Indeed highlights the potential importance that global migration will play in the labour market in the years ahead, especially as international travel relaxes.”

STEM job postings continue to have highest foreign click shares

In February, nine of the ten fields with the highest share of clicks on job postings from abroad were in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Agriculture and forestry were the one exception. Software development stood at the top, in line with previous years, with 22% of clicks on postings in the field coming from outside Canada. Other areas of tech and engineering also continued to receive relatively high levels of foreign interest ranging from 14% to 19% of clicks.

Both global and domestic factors explain why foreign job seekers have an outsized footprint have in clicks on Canadian STEM job postings. Tech workers, for instance, can enter Canada more easily than others through programs like the Global Talent Stream. In addition, the advantage of those with professional backgrounds like engineering under the Express Entry points system probably boosts the popularity of these jobs abroad. Meanwhile, only a portion of Canadian job seekers have the skills to enter these fields, and some of them might look to the US for higher-paying opportunities.

In-person jobs see fastest foreign click share growth

Occupations that require in-person work have grown fastest in foreign click share since the start of the pandemic. The foreign share of clicks on postings in manual labour-related fields such as cleaning and sanitation, loading and stocking, agriculture and forestry, construction, and production and manufacturing all more than doubled from February 2020 to February 2022. Some in-person services like food and retail also saw sharp increases in foreign click share from relatively low levels.

Indeed assessed foreign job seeker interest in Canada by tracking the share of total clicks on Indeed job postings located in Canada by job seekers with IP addresses located outside of Canada. Job seekers whose location could not be determined were removed from the analysis. All data in the post reflect seasonally adjusted weighted 28-day moving averages.