canada's youth unemployment 'a crisis' as numbers rise
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a help wanted sign.
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in the wake of the federal government’s spring mini-budget boasting about the resilience of the economy, a new study finds youth unemployment in canada increased from 10% in 2022 to 13.8% in 2025, the largest three-year increase on record when the economy was not in a recession.
the report by the fraser institute says that last year, 437,000 young people between 15 and 24 years of age looked for a job but could not find one, up 57% from 290,000 in 2022.
in addition, unemployed youths remained jobless for the longest period on record since data started being collected in 1976.
“canada’s youth unemployment is a crisis and will have serious consequences in later years when youths today who are unable to secure work try to find steady employment as adults,” said philip cross, author of “the extraordinary increase of youth unemployment in canada.”
the study by the fiscally conservative think tank reports the increase in youth unemployment reverses a decades-long gradual downward trend.
the gap between the canadian unemployment rate for youths (13.8%) and adults (5.7%) last year reached a near all-time high of 8.1 percentage points, second only to the record-high of 9.6 points during the 1982 recession.
the unemployment rate for 15-19 year olds at 19.5% was also at a near-record high, outside of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and the gap of 8.6 percentage points with unemployment among 20–24 year olds, at 10.9%, was also at a near all-time high.
higher than rate in u.s.
it also says canada’s youth unemployment rate has remained consistently above the youth unemployment rate in the united states since 2015.
canada’s rate of 13.8% was 3.8 percentage points above the u.s. rate of 10%, and was the largest gap recorded outside of the covid pandemic and in the 1990s, when the u.s. rate fell below 10%.
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the loss of jobs in the youth employment sector was concentrated in the retail trade, accommodation and food services sectors, where 70% of youth jobs are situated.
reasons for the dramatic rise
the study attributes the dramatic rise in youth unemployment to both federal and provincial policies, specifically the decision of the previous justin trudeau government to dramatically increase immigration, which increased the supply of young workers, and the simultaneous increase in minimum wages in most provinces, which decreased demand.
“the extraordinary surge in youth unemployment in canada is a homegrown problem, and policymakers in ottawa and in provincial legislatures should review the policies that are making it worse,” cross said.
the latest data from statistics canada reported that the youth unemployment rate in march was 13.8%.
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