US EditionWhy student unemployment is rising and what it could signal about a looming recession
CANADA, JUL 13 – Student unemployment reached 17.4% in June, the highest since 2009 excluding the pandemic, with job cuts in government and tech sectors impacting opportunities, economists say.
- Youth unemployment rates and job struggles for recent graduates have risen significantly in 2025 across Canada and the US, with student unemployment near 6%.
- This rise stems from cautious employer hiring amid economic uncertainty, U.S. tariffs impacting industries, and cutbacks in junior positions during a broader job market slowdown.
- Examples include a Gen Z job-seeker waitressing after six months without success and another using unconventional methods securing interviews, showing fierce competition.
- More than 58% of recent graduates still seek their first job, while unemployment among young Canadians aged 15 to 24 hit 17.4%, the highest June rate since 2009.
- Experts warn that these trends may signal a potential recession, while advising graduates to build resilience and view early career challenges as part of long-term growth.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Gen Z is right about the job hunt—it really is worse than it was for millennials, with nearly 60% of fresh faced grads frozen out of the workforce
Gen Z’s suspicion that the job hunt is harder than ever may be true—about 58% of recent graduates are still looking for full-time work, compared to 25% of earlier graduates, like millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers before them. Young job-hunters are also three times less likely to have a job lined up out of school, as AI agents take over and entry-level roles are shrinking for Gen Z workers. Gen Z is slammed for complaining about how tough …
Part-time jobs drive June employment rebound; students left behind
Canada’s job market saw growth for the first time in five months in June. However, the vast majority of new jobs were part-time positions.Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey was released Friday morning and highlighted that 70,000 of the 83,000 new jobs in June were for part-time work.The unemployment rate went down slightly, reaching 6.9 per cent, which remains the second-highest rate in the G7 behind only France. France posted a 7.1 per cen…
(Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Chae-won and Song Jeong-eun = The economic downturn has hit the youth hard. As young people are having difficulties in both employment and starting a business, the vitality of future generations is fading...
'Panicking': Why recent college grads are struggling to find jobs
Recent college graduates are facing one of the most challenging job markets in years — with the exception of the pandemic period — even as the overall unemployment rate remains low.(Image credit: Spencer Platt)
Why student unemployment is rising and what it could signal about a looming recession
The unemployment rate for students looking for summer jobs is the highest it’s been in a non-pandemic year since 2009, when Canada was going through a recession — and some economists worry that the latest numbers could signal another one is just around the corner.
Botswana’s lost generation trapped in the jobless spiral
Sunday Standard Botswana’s lost generation trapped in the jobless spiral Every morning, hundreds of Botswana university graduates wake up to scroll through job listings that never change. Degree in hand, CV polished, and hope fading, they are a generation whose biggest achievement is surviving unemployment in a country overflowing with potential, yet failing its youth. .ihc-locker-wrap{}There's more to this story But to keep reading, we need you…
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