Ethn Health. 2008 Oct 23:1-19. [Epub ahead of print] Links 'Education? It is irrelevant to my job now. It makes me very depressed ...': exploring the health impacts of under/unemployment among highly skilled recent immigrants in Canada. Asanin Dean J, Wilson K. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Immigrants account for 20% of the population and 60% of total population growth in Canada (Statistics Canada 2001). The majority of immigrants are accepted for entry to Canada under the Skilled Worker Program in order to fill employment shortages in the labour market (CIC 2007). Recent research has revealed that an increasing number of immigrants who gain entry under this programme face significant barriers to employment. As a result, many remain unemployed or accept employment outside of and below their field of education and training. However, the impacts such employment circumstances have on the health of immigrants have not yet been examined. This paper presents the results of a collaborative research project that explores the health impacts of under/unemployment among skilled immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. In-depth interviews are used to examine the experiences of employment and perceptions of subsequent health impacts among 22 recent immigrants. The participants most frequently identified mental health impacts due to a lack of income, loss of employment-related skills, loss of social status and family pressures. These health concerns are also extended to family members. In addition to mental health, physical health is perceived to be affected by employment circumstances through high levels of stress and strenuous working conditions. These findings shed light on the nature of the links between employment and health relationship as well as determinants of immigrant health. Additional research is required to examine the long-term effects of under/unemployment. Dennis Raphael, PhD Professor of Health Policy and Management York University 4700 Keele Street Room 418, HNES Building Toronto, Ontario M4M 1W8 416-736-2100, ext. 22134 email: [log in to unmask] http://www.atkinson.yorku.ca/draphael Of interest: *NEW* Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 2nd edition, edited by Dennis Raphael Forewords by Carolyn Bennett and Roy Romanow http://tinyurl.com/5l6yh9 Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life by Dennis Raphael Foreword by Jack Layton http://tinyurl.com/2hg2df Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care, edited by Dennis Raphael, Toba Bryant, and Marcia Rioux Foreword by Gary Teeple http://tinyurl.com/2zqrox See a lecture! The Politics of Population Health http://msl.stream.yorku.ca/mediasite/viewer/?peid=ac604170-9ccc-4268-a1af-9a9e04b28e1d Also, presentation on Politics and Health at the Centre for Health Disparities in Cleveland Ohio http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4129139685624192201&hl=en