Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Youth unemployment at recessionary ranges, CIBC report finds

CIBC analyst Andrew Grantham says the rise in unemployment amongst these aged 15 to 24 has gone above and past what the present financial backdrop would counsel.

He says the youth jobless fee sometimes rises about 4 share factors in periods of weak point, which is greater than the two-percentage-point achieve amongst prime age staff when the financial system pulls again.

However since 2022, the youth unemployment fee has risen greater than common, with a 5.5 share level achieve. That’s on the similar time core-aged staff have seen a lower-than-usual rise in joblessness.

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Companies implementing extra tech instruments, together with AI

Grantham suspects the rise of synthetic intelligence is an element on the demand aspect, as a result of the roles sometimes undertaken by younger persons are additionally those most in danger from technological modifications.

He says the jobless pattern can also be due partially to an uptick in non-permanent residents from 2022-24 including to the labour drive, however he notes that the upper provide of staff doesn’t account for weak point throughout all the market.

“With inhabitants development decelerating quickly lately, largely due to a curbing of pupil numbers, that offer issue is unlikely to clarify the renewed weakening in youth employment witnessed this yr,” Grantham wrote in his evaluation printed Tuesday.

Statistics Canada reported youth unemployment in July rose to 14.6%, the very best fee since September 2010.

Grantham stated early knowledge factors to the function of AI and different labour-substituting applied sciences that can possible disproportionately have an effect on youthful Canadians searching for jobs. For instance, the report recommended the retail sector is partly accountable for excessive unemployment, as retailers more and more roll out self-checkouts, whereas enterprise and assist providers are more and more turning to AI. However the components contributing to the weakening job market aren’t going to final perpetually, Grantham stated.

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“Inhabitants development, notably amongst (non-permanent residents), is already slowing, that means much less incremental provide needing to be absorbed into the labour market,” he stated.

Different intervals of technical development that led to upheaval within the job market, together with the rise of the non-public laptop and the web, had these losses offset in the long run with new jobs in different areas, he stated.

The report didn’t point out how quickly the pattern may start to shift.

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