At the height of the recession, youth in Canada faced nearly double the unemployment rate as the general population. We reported this in October 2009, in our blog post, “Vital Signs Weak for Youth Employment.”
Today, as Canada continues to rebound from its economic woes, it seems that Canadian youth have been left behind.
Craig Alexander, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, told the Globe that the youth job market is running about one to 1½ years behind the adult job market. “The hope would be that they would actually stay in the educational system and develop greater skills that would then later help them when the labour market improves, but the evidence is not strong that that is happening,” he said.
The Canadian employment market is improving – there were 22,300 new jobs created last month alone, according to a Statistics Canada report released earlier this week. But while overall unemployment fell to 7.4 % last month, unemployment for Canadians between the ages of 15 and 24 was still as high as nearly 14%.
Click the map image to go directly to the Globe and Mail’s interactive online map, displaying youth unemployment rates across Canada.
Why hire recent grads?
Career Edge Organization host employers who work with our Career Edge and Ability Edge paid internship programs know first-hand the value of hiring youth. Career Edge Organization attracts career-minded, recent graduates from Canadian universities and colleges who are seeking real-world work experience through meaningful, entry-level paid internships with reputable companies that recognize the benefits of their energy, fresh perspectives and newly acquired skills.
To learn more about how you can help put Canadian grads to work, visit our website, www.careeredge.ca.