Soaring Costs and Fewer Jobs Leave Youth Adrift

Four months, 50 applications, two interviews and still no job. That describes 21-year-old political studies graduate Lauren Hood’s experience—a situation that resonates with many young people today. After completing a four-year degree, Hood expected to find work more easily. Instead, she found the job market tougher than anticipated.

Hood, who has been living with her parents in Aurora, Ont., since graduation, described applying for a role she believed matched her qualifications only to discover the company closed applications early after receiving more than 450 resumes. Even positions she considers well within her skillset—retail and restaurant work—proved difficult to secure.

Youth struggle as unemployment hits a 15-year high

Repeated rejections have taken a toll. “I feel behind, even though I just graduated,” Hood said. “I don’t really have stability in my life or even a schedule. I go day by day, and it’s really stressful.”

Many young Canadians interviewed by The Canadian Press echoed that disillusionment. They described a fading belief that hard work alone will produce the same standard of living their parents achieved. Young workers face a labor market with fewer opportunities and an economy where rising costs make milestones like independent housing or financial security harder to reach.

Statistics Canada reported youth unemployment at 14.7% in September, the highest outside the pandemic years in 15 years. While youth employment inched up in October and November, overall levels remained only marginally improved from summer lows.

Full-time opportunities for young workers have steadily declined

Long-term trends show a shrinking share of young people in full-time, permanent roles. In 1989 nearly 80% of workers aged 15 to 30 held full-time, steady jobs. By 2019 that share dropped to roughly 70%, and five years later it fell below 60%. Those shifts have reduced the number of reliable entry-level positions that used to launch careers.

Canada’s economy is feeling pressure from trade uncertainty and tariff tensions, factors that have constrained hiring. Economists note that youth and other vulnerable groups are often the first affected when employers cut back on openings. “That’s a lot of what we saw this summer,” said economist Kari Norman, co-author of a Desjardins report on youth unemployment. “Those companies that would have been big employers were just not there.”

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A crowded job market: immigration and AI pressures

The sharp rise in youth unemployment looks more like a recessionary pattern than the modest downturn many expected, according to Desjardins. One contributing factor is population growth. After the pandemic, the federal government admitted more international students and foreign workers to meet employer demand. While Ottawa has since slowed that flow to rebalance the labor market, for now young Canadians are competing for a limited pool of early-career roles.

Artificial intelligence is another force reshaping entry-level work. AI increasingly performs routine tasks that historically gave young people their first jobs, widening a gap between starter roles and positions that require several years of experience. “How do you get those first five years of experience?” Norman asked—a question many young workers now face.

For some, the answer lies abroad. Osobe Waberi left Toronto after rent increases made city living unaffordable. She relocated to Oman on a two-year permit, finding a path to faster savings and an opportunity to launch a public relations firm serving Canadian clients. While she plans to return to Toronto, the move allowed her to reset financially: “I love Toronto, it is home, and I’m definitely homesick. But I was more sick of paying the rent,” she said.

Homeownership remains out of reach for many young Canadians

Research from Generation Squeeze—an organization advocating for younger generations—shows it has become much harder for young people to achieve homeownership compared with previous generations. In 1986, a typical 25- to 34-year-old could save a 20% down payment on a representative Canadian home in about five years. By 2021, that timeframe stretched to 17 years nationally and 27 years in Vancouver and Toronto. The organization notes a partial easing to nearly 14 years in 2024 amid a cooling housing market and lower interest rates, but prices would still need to fall sharply for younger Canadians to enjoy the same access to homeownership as earlier generations.

Lisa Taylor, founder of the consultancy The Challenge Factory, says younger workers have experienced “economic scarring” from the pandemic. Restrictions on in-person work limited chances to build professional networks and gain early career experience. But she also cautions that changing timelines play a role: many young people are staying in school longer, marrying later and delaying home purchases until they can rely on dual incomes. “Is Gen Z screwed? Or are they simply taking longer to reach milestones we once expected to happen sooner?” she asked.

Tough market pushes youth to extend education

Norman sees these trends firsthand as a parent of four in the 16-to-25 age range. One of her children, a university student who could not find a co-op placement, took extra courses to compensate for lost practical experience. Students who can’t secure jobs before or after graduation often remain in school longer and finance that education with debt, which can burden them for years after graduating.

For Hood, a small break came weeks after her interview with The Canadian Press. While interviewing for a retail position at a local mall, she was offered a seasonal job on the spot. The role lacks benefits and doesn’t align with her long-term career goals, but the immediate relief of steady pay is significant. “I am still very grateful to have the chance to get back to work,” she said.

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