In August, Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s youth unemployment rate reached 14.5 per cent, the highest it has been in over a decade, excluding the pandemic years. In comparison, the national unemployment rate stood at 7.1 per cent.
For many current students and recent graduates, these numbers translate into rejection emails, part-time shifts and lost opportunities.
After applying to dozens of positions without hearing back, Delia Lappala, a third-year English major at the University of Toronto, said “looking for jobs this past year was exhausting […] it was like shouting into a void,” reverberating the sentiments of many university students today.
Statistics Canada’s report continues to outline that among “returning students” — those enrolled full-time in March and set to return in September — unemployment hit 16.9 per cent in August. Averaged across May to August, their unemployment rate was 17.9 per cent, the highest it has been since 2009 (excluding 2020).
Unemployment is hitting some provinces worse than others. In a June 2025 research piece, The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reported that in Ontario, unemployment for teenagers (ages 15-19) climbed to 22.2 per cent in 2025, up from 14.9 per cent in 2019, while young adults aged 20-24 saw their rate rise to 13.2 per cent from 9.9 per cent.
Students within co-operative education programs describe a labour market where entry-level postings come with mid-career requirements.
“Lots of places are asking for 3 plus years of experience in your field,” said Alessandra Longo, a computer science student at Brock University.
Longo’s frustrations of excessive expectations that are often far beyond the scope of university training was reaffirmed by Sadaf Zaidi — also a student in the computer science program at Brock. Zaidi shared her experience that after applying to over 60 jobs — approximately 30 from Brock’s Job Board and the remaining half from LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed — she finally got an interview after receiving a referral from an employee of the company.
The prevalence of internal hiring has caused a grand barrier for students to acquire entry level jobs. Many employers have begun to hire based only on referral and internal recommendations
The scarcity of work and limited hours creates direct financial strain. Both Lappala and Longo shared the difficulties of covering living costs when “most jobs don’t give you lots of hours,” according to Longo.
Even with the money that is earned, there is no option of saving for many, forcing students to live paycheque to paycheque before they have the chance to learn or develop financial skills. Lappala stated that all her earnings from the summer were subsequently “spent on rent and living expenses,” requiring her “to continue to work during the year and rely on student loans and parental support.”
The barriers combined with financial strains have resulted in students settling for jobs separate or adjacent to their aspired fields.
For example, many computers science co-op students have discussed only I.T. co-op positions being available, rather than co-ops involving programming to further strengthen their skills and prepare them for long-term career prospects.
The mismatch fuels anxiety and makes many university students question the value of an undergraduate degree.
“You’ve worked this hard, you try to learn skills, but you’re still not up to par,” said Longo, who fears new graduates will remain locked out of their fields despite years of training.
Across the three interviews, one message was consistent: youth need realistic opportunities to gain experience.
“Make space for young people or inexperienced people so they can gain experience […] we are just not being given a chance,” said Lappala.
Echoing this message, Zaidi said she hopes for employers to “have reasonable expectations for students.” She continued, “we may not understand everything, but […] we want to step into this field, get good experience and learn from that.”
Canada’s youth unemployment problem is not just a temporary high-low within the economy, but a structural issue caused by inflated qualifications for entry-level jobs; employers preferring internal hires and referrals; mismatch between what schools teach and what jobs demand; and rising costs forcing students to accept any job, even if it is unrelated to their main field of study.
Students are not asking for shortcuts. They are asking for the chance to start. Without adjustments from employers and policymakers, the bleak numbers risk turning into a lost generation of workers.