Young Canadians are seeing improved labour market, but it’s not all good news
Statistics Canada’s data show the broader youth unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 fell 0.7 percentage points to 12.7% in June, close to the recent low of 12.8% seen in November 2025 and January 2026, though still above the 2017-2019 pre-pandemic average of 10.8%. Youth employment rose by 33,000, or 1.2%, driven mainly by part-time hiring, which increased by 25,000, or 1.9%.
Age groups vary
Among returning students specifically, the improvement varied by age group.
Those aged 20 to 24, typically in post-secondary education, saw their unemployment rate fall to 8.2%, a 4.1 percentage point drop from a year earlier. Students aged 17 to 19 saw their rate fall to 16.5%, down 2.5 percentage points.
The youngest group, aged 15 to 16, fared worse, with unemployment rising 2.8 percentage points to 30.6%, as many were still searching for summer work while attending high school during the survey reference week. Retail trade, accommodation and food services, and information, culture and recreation were the leading employers of returning students, accounting for 25.7%, 23.3% and 13.0% of student jobs respectively.
The wider labour market also held steady in June. Employment rose by a modest 18,000, or 0.1%, following a stronger gain of 88,000 in May, and the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%, marking a second consecutive monthly decline.
