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Leveraging Digital Capital in the Canadian Labour Market

A laptop open on a table, the log-in page to Facebooko visible

Project Lead

Stein Monteiro

Team Members

Masoud Kianpour, Anna Triandafyllidou

While traditional migration theories often overlook the pre-arrival digital stage, this research posits that the quality and method of digital information seeking before arriving in Canada are critical predictors of early settlement success.

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Objective 

This project investigates the "digital capital" of newcomers by analyzing how pre-arrival social media usage for labour market information (LMI) translates into post-arrival economic integration. Preliminary analysis of a survey of over 2,000 immigrants reveals a "digital premium," where social media users are significantly more likely to be employed than those relying on traditional media. However, the effectiveness of this digital capital is heterogeneous; outcomes vary significantly based on the specific type of information sought (e.g., licensing vs. job openings) and the platform functionality used (e.g., active search vs. passive news feeds).

The primary objective is to quantify the value of pre-arrival "digital capital" in the context of Canadian economic integration. The project aims to understand how information is accessed and the type of content influences labour market outcomes like earnings, employment status, and job-match quality. The project seeks to provide evidence-based recommendations for settlement service providers to better integrate digital literacy into pre-arrival support services.

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Research Questions

  1. To what extent does pre-arrival social media usage for labour market information impact post-arrival labour market outcomes? 
  2. How does the specific type of information sought (e.g., occupational licensing, job opportunities) differentially affect outcomes?
  3. How do platform functionalities (e.g., active search on job boards vs. passive consumption of "For You" pages) influence outcomes? 
  4. What role do informal online communities play in alerting newcomers to barriers and altering their labour market strategies?
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Methodology

The study utilizes data from a comprehensive survey of over 2,000 immigrants across Canada. This dataset captures granular details on pre-arrival digital behaviors, including specific platforms used (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit), the nature of information sought, and search intensity. The analysis employs regression models to isolate the impact of these pre-arrival digital activities on post-arrival outcomes (employment, earnings ≥$50,000, job-match quality), controlling for demographic variables and traditional settlement service usage.

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Status

This project has commenced and is currently ongoing.

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Outcomes

Publications:

Monteiro, S. (2025). Immigrants Searching for Job Market Information on Social Media. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2025.2591718 (external link) 

Monteiro, S. (2024). Searching for settlement information on Reddit. International Migration, 62(3), 100–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13261 (external link) 

Monteiro, S. (2024). Pre-Arrival Experience with Social Media, Settlement Service Usage and Post-Arrival Labour Market Outcomes. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 22(4), 862–885. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2022.2139038 (external link) 

Past events and presentations:

  • “The Digital Im/migrant: IS in Migration Governance”, panel by P Seguel, M Paquet, A Niraula, M Coderre, and É Baril, AMCIS 2025, Montreal, Canada, August 2025.
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Keywords

Immigrant professionals; labour market integration; credential recognition; AI; digital tools; settlement sector