Youth Unemployment at 15-Year High in September

Canada’s overall unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 percent.

A man looks to order from Jugo Juice, part of MTY Food Group Inc., in a mall in Montreal on Dec. 2, 2024. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

Canada’s youth unemployment rate in September reached 14.7 percent, which is the highest level since 2010, excluding the pandemic period.

The youth unemployment rate grew 0.2 percentage points in September, up from 14.5 percent in August, making September’s rate the highest in 15 years, StatCan said in its September Labour Force Survey released Oct. 10. Compared to the same time last year, youth unemployment grew by 1.2 percentage points.

“The increase in the youth unemployment rate over the 12 months to September was primarily due to rising unemployment among students,” StatCan said.

The unemployment rate among youth attending school was 17.1 percent in September, representing an increase of 3.1 percentage points from the same month last year. Comparatively, the unemployment rate among youth not attending school was 11.9 percent in September, which remained “virtually unchanged” from last year.

The rise in youth unemployment follows a difficult summer job market this year, StatCan says. The average unemployment rate for returning students from May to August was 17.9 percent, which is the highest rate since the summer of 2009 at 18 percent, not including in 2020.

“Young Canadians trying to pay tuition, gain experience and start their lives have been completely abandoned,” Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said in an Oct. 10 statement. He said even those with postsecondary education are struggling, as roughly one in six such workers are in jobs unrelated to their training.

“Instead of creating opportunity, the Liberals have driven away investment, smothered small businesses with higher taxes and red tape, and refused to align training and immigration with labour market realities,” Genuis said.

The Conservatives have also been calling on Ottawa to permanently end the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program, saying it has shut young Canadians out of employment and allowed some businesses to take advantage of newcomers.

NDP MP Don Davies told the House of Commons on Oct. 10 that the youth job crisis is “not only unfair to them, it’s damaging our economy as their skills and talents go untapped.”

“The Liberal government must act immediately to address this growing jobs crisis—especially for young Canadians,” Davies said in an Oct. 10 X post.

The Epoch Times contacted Employment and Social Development Canada but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has said that the government  has allocated $26.1 million to boost youth employment through different programs, including the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) and Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) programs.

“Through the YESS and CSFA Program, we are securing opportunities for students while allowing businesses nationwide to access young talent,” Hajdu said in September.

Overall Unemployment Held Steady

Meanwhile, Canada’s overall unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 percent in September, remaining at its highest level since May 2016, aside from the pandemic period. The economy gained 60,000 jobs in September, StatCan said.

While September’s growth in jobs partially offset a decline of 106,000 jobs over the previous two months, employment has had little net growth so far this year, with just a 0.1 percent net increase of 22,000 jobs since January.

The largest gains in September were in the manufacturing, health care and social assistance, and agriculture sectors, while the wholesale and retail trade sector declined. Full-time employment increased by 106,000 jobs, while part-time employment declined by 46,000 jobs.

Alberta’s unemployment rate declined by 0.6 percentage points to 7.8 percent in September and employment rose by 43,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also fell in Quebec to 5.7 percent in September, down from its peak in June of 6.3 percent.

Although employment increased in New Brunswick and Manitoba, the unemployment rate increased in both provinces, reaching 8.1 percent in New Brunswick and 6.2 percent in Manitoba. The unemployment rate in Ontario also increased by 0.2 percentage points to 7.9 percent in September, representing an increase of 0.8 percentage points since September last year.

The census metropolitan areas with the highest unemployment rates in September were Windsor at 10.4 percent, Toronto at 8.9 percent, Oshawa at 8.8 percent, Edmonton at 8.7 percent, and Calgary at 8.1 percent.

Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.