The age at which people immigrate to Canada has a significant effect on their success at finding work and on job quality — even when they obtain a Canadian degree, according to a new study.

Immigrants who arrive before adulthood have easier access to the job market than those who arrive as adults, says the report from the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy released Monday.

Using 2005 Statistics Canada data, the study divided immigrants into two groups: those who arrived in Canada before age 18 and those who arrived at age 18 or older.

It found that people who came to Canada as adults were more likely than their younger peers to have postgraduate degrees — master's degrees or doctorates — and in most cases their degrees were in the applied sciences.

However, the adult group had more difficulty finding jobs, especially jobs related to their field of study, and their average wages were lower. That said, once they did find employment, it was more likely to be permanent, full-time and related to their academic field.

The provincial breakdown shows adult immigrants have the greatest difficulty finding work in Quebec. However, the adjusted wage gap between this group of immigrants and non-immigrant Canadians is much smaller in Quebec (7.6 per cent lower) than it is in Ontario (12 per cent lower) and in British Columbia (19.8 per cent lower).

The study concludes that immigrants who arrive in Canada as adults do not derive the same benefits from Canadian post-secondary education as those who arrive before the age of 18.