Youth summer jobs harder to find despite national hiring gains

Canada's overall unemployment rate improved to 6.6 per cent in May, but teenagers and young adults are still struggling to land summer work.

The youth unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 remained at 13.4 per cent, marking the first decline since January but still well above the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent. For 15-year-old Eliana Tesgzeab, the search has been discouraging. "It makes me feel frustrated sometimes, and it makes me lose hope," she said after weeks of applications.

Lina Raffoul, head manager at Horizon Carrière in Saint-Leonard, said the organization has seen a noticeable decline in opportunities. "We're talking about 25 per cent less job offers this year than in an average year," Raffoul said. She attributed the trend to employers being cautious about creating new positions and increasing automation in entry-level work.

Retail trade continues to employ the largest share of returning students at 28.4 per cent, followed by accommodation and food services at 23 per cent. The unemployment rate among returning students did fall to 18 per cent from 20.1 per cent a year earlier, but competition for available positions remains strong.