Top Jobs Receiving LMIAs (Closed Work Permit)

Gaining Canadian work experience is a critical part of the immigration journey for many newcomers. This not only increases their eligibility for immigration but also enhances their skills to align with the Canadian labour market.

Most newcomers gain the ability to work in Canada through a work permit, which allows them to live and work in the country with temporary resident status. A significant route to obtaining a work permit is through a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) supported work permit.

An LMIA is an assessment by the Canadian government of the impact that hiring a foreign worker will have on the Canadian labour market. For a work permit application to be supported, the LMIA must return a positive or neutral result. If the result is negative, the position becomes ineligible for this type of work permit. LMIAs help determine if a Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available to fill the job position.

Positions that receive LMIAs are often highly in demand in Canada. Below is a breakdown of the jobs that received the most LMIAs in 2023, based on data from the Canadian government.

Top Ten Jobs Receiving LMIAs

According to Canada’s open data portal, the following jobs received the most LMIAs in 2023:

Job Title	2016 NOC Code	LMIAs Issued in 2023
General Farm Workers	8431	8,289
Cooks	6322	5,187
Food service supervisors	6311	3,739
Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, and related support occupations	6711	2,576
Administrative assistants	1241	1,619
Retail sales supervisors	6211	1,358
Information systems analysts and consultants	2171	1,168
Computer programmers and interactive media developers	2174	1,133
Transport truck drivers	7511	1,131
Construction trades helpers and labourers	7611	994
Administrative officers	1221	990

The employment codes and job titles above correspond to the National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2016 codes. Canada uses the NOC system to categorize and classify professions within the Canadian economy. The 2016 NOC codes were expanded in 2021 to include more specific job titles that were previously grouped together.

For example, the 2016 NOC Code for General farm workers (8431) was expanded in 2021 to:

• 84120: Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators

• 85100: Livestock labourers

• 85101: Harvesting labourers

To check how NOCs and job positions have changed from 2016 to 2021, refer to the IRCC's conversion table for NOC codes.

Within the top 100 jobs that received LMIAs, most positions were within administrative, construction, farming, technology and technology management, transport, logistics, and food service sectors of the economy.

In total, the Canadian government issued more than 60,000 LMIAs to support the hiring of foreign workers in 2023. Applicants in these positions received their work permits under various streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The TFWP is the primary immigration program that issues LMIA-supported work permits and contains multiple streams with different eligibility criteria depending on the type of work, industry, responsibilities, and wages.

Of the top 10 jobs receiving LMIAs in 2023:

• Four were from the low-wage stream of the TFWP

• Four were from the high-wage stream

• One was from the Global Talent Stream (GTS)

• One (the highest number of LMIAs) was from the Primary Agriculture stream

How Newcomers Can Use This Information

Newcomers who need an LMIA and are flexible in their job choice may benefit from targeting occupations that historically receive a high number of LMIAs. It's important to note that employers are responsible for applying for the LMIA and paying all associated fees. Employers must follow the outlined steps and comply with TFWP standards, including publicly advertising the job position for a specific duration.

In March 2024, Canada announced changes to the TFWP and LMIA processes, including validity periods and workforce quotas. For more information on LMIAs and the application process, visit the dedicated webpage. To learn more about the TFWP, click here.