What is the Labour Market Integration (LMI) factor?
The Labour Market Integration factor is a new way IRCC awards Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, effective November 3, 2026. It rewards two things IRCC wants to see: a genuine job offer in a high-wage occupation, or at least 12 months of Canadian work experience in one. Both are only counted when the occupation is on IRCC’s list of 186 high-wage occupations.
“High-wage” is decided per occupation, not per person: IRCC compares the median wage of everyone working in that NOC with the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. Occupations land in one of three groups:
- 2.0× and above the national median — 31 occupations (top group)
- 1.5× to below 2.0× — 89 occupations (medium group)
- 1.3× to below 1.5× — 66 occupations (base group)
The assignments are based on 2023–2025 data from Job Bank, the Labour Force Survey and the Census of Population.
How many CRS points is each group worth?
| Wage group | Qualifying job offer | High-wage experience |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0× and above | +100 | +70 |
| 1.5× to below 2.0× | +70 | +40 |
| 1.3× to below 1.5× | +50 | +20 |
Experience points stack on top of the existing work-length points for Canadian experience (1–5+ years). Those are worth 40/53/64/72/80 points without an accompanying spouse, or 35/46/56/63/70 with one. So a single applicant with 3 years of experience in a 2.0× occupation earns 64 + 70 = 134 points.
The cap: 150 (or 140) points, and no stacking
Two rules keep the factor in check:
- Offer and experience points don’t stack. IRCC compares what you’d get from each and awards the option that gives you more CRS points.
- There’s a hard cap. The whole Labour Market Integration factor is worth at most 150 points (without a spouse) or 140 points (with a spouse).
Does my own salary change my points?
No. IRCC sets the wage group from the typical pay of everyone in the occupation, not your personal salary. A highly paid individual in an occupation whose median is 1.4× the national median still gets the base group — and a modest earner in a 2.0× occupation still gets the top group. A pay raise never moves an occupation’s group.
What happens to LMIA-backed job offers?
From November 3, 2026, a qualifying Express Entry job offer no longer requires an LMIA — and the old 50/200-point arrangement for LMIA-backed offers is gone. Offers are instead worth 100/70/50 points through this factor, depending on the occupation’s wage group. Officers still verify that the employer is active, able to employ you, and that the offer is genuine. Until IRCC’s systems update, profiles may still be asked to enter a placeholder LMIA number (for example, 00000).
What happens to existing profiles?
Profiles already in the pool are rescored automatically under the new rules. IRCC says rescoring may take up to two weeks, and invitation rounds pause during the transition. You don’t need to submit anything new to be rescored.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need 12 months of experience, or can less count?
At least 12 months (1,560 hours) of qualifying Canadian experience is required for the high-wage experience points. It can be non-continuous, full-time or part-time, and combined across jobs — but concurrent hours only count up to 30 hours per week.
Does the occupation of my experience matter, or just the length?
Both. The experience must be in an eligible high-wage occupation, and the group (2.0×+, 1.5–2.0×, 1.3–1.5×) is set by that occupation’s median wage.
Where can I see the full list of 186 occupations?
IRCC publishes it on canada.ca, and we mirror it in a searchable table: see the complete 186 high-wage occupations list.
Is there a quick way to estimate my points?
Yes — the high-wage CRS calculator walks you through experience, job offer, NOC and wage group in four steps and applies IRCC’s rules for you.