The national Survey of Information Technology Occupations, conducted in 2002 on behalf of the Software Human Resource Council (SHRC), is the first to shed light on the IT labour market in both the public and private sectors. IT employers and employees were surveyed separately, but simultaneously. The employer survey consisted of questions on occupation profile, hiring and recruitment, employee retention, and training and development. The employee survey had questions on the occupational history of IT employees, salary, education, training, and skills. The target population consisted of private sector locations with at least six employees, and with at least one employee working in IT, as well as public-sector divisions with at least one IT employee. The NSITO is a three-stage survey. First, a sample of employers in both private and public sectors is selected; this is stage 1. The questions asked in stage 1 are essentially about the IT workforce. Stage 2 involves selecting a maximum of two occupations (out of 25) per employer. The questions asked in this stage deal with hiring, training and retaining employees in the selected occupations. In stage 3, a maximum of 10 employees are sampled for each occupation selected in stage 2. Among the subjects that employees are asked about are training, previous employment and demographic characteristics. For National Survey of Information Technology Occupations data, refer to Statistics Canada.

A positive LMIA will be issued by Service Canada if an assessment indicates that hiring a temporary foreign worker (TFW) will have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market. A positive LMIA must be obtained by an employer before hiring a TFW for a specific occupation. This list excludes all personal names, such as employers of caregivers or business names that use or include personal names. For this reason, the list is not complete and does not reflect all employers who requested or received an LMIA. The data provided in this report tracks TFW positions on Labour Market Impact Assessments only, not TFWs that are issued a work permit or who enter Canada. The decision to issue a work permit rests with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); therefore, not all positions approved result in a work permit or a TFW entering Canada. The data includes all positions on all positive LMIAs as issued, and therefore also includes any position that may have been subsequently cancelled by the employer. For information on the number of work permits issued, please consult Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Facts and Figures: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/menu-fact.asp. Note: From Q1 2018 to Q3 2023 data, LMIAs in support of Permanent Residence (PR) were excluded from published employer lists. As of the publication of Q4 2023 employer lists (published in April 2024) and going forward, all LMIAs in support of 'Permanent Residence (PR) Only' will be included in the employer lists. However, previous employer lists will not be updated. Should an employer wish to contact ESDC concerning the accuracy of this information, please contact NA-TFWP-PTET@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.