Young people are struggling to find work. Older people saying try harder isnt helping

The CurrentIt’s a tough job market for young people right now, but some say that older generations seem to doubt that they’re putting in enough effort to find work Recent graduate says it’s wrong to think his generation isn’t putting in the effortPadraig Moran · CBC Radio · Posted: Oct 09, 2025 3:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours agoSami Rasheed graduated from a University of Toronto business program last year and has struggled to find work, despite performing well both academically and during work placements (Submitted by Sami Rasheed)LISTEN | Young Canadians struggling to find work:The Current23:02What’s it like to be a new grad and apply to 1000+ jobsIt’s a tough job market for young people just starting out right now, but one recent graduate says that doubt and dismissal from older generations isn’t making it any easier. “It really pushes my buttons when other generations say that we’re doing something wrong,” Sami Rasheed told The Current’s Matt Galloway.“[I’ve had] people telling me to do the things that I’ve already been doing and almost like not believing that I’m really putting my full effort in, or that I must be making some silly mistake.”Rasheed graduated from a University of Toronto business program last year. He performed well both academically and during work placements, and was told he shouldn’t have any trouble finding work upon graduating.But a year later, he says he’s sent out roughly 1,100 applications — but he only received about a dozen replies.“I spent a lot of mornings just dreading getting up and putting in another eight hours applying to jobs,” Rasheed said.“It’s hard to live your life when you don’t have money, you don’t have direction, and it seems like all the doors are just closed.”WATCH | What’s behind the surge in youth unemployment?:How did the Gen Z job market get so bleak?Gen Z graduates between the ages of 15 and 24 are facing the highest unemployment rate the country has seen in decades, apart from the pandemic. CBC’s Paula Duhatschek breaks down what’s behind the surge and what it could mean for a whole generation of Canadians.After a year of sending applications, Rasheed recently landed a six-month contract with a bank, which he hopes will lead to something more permanent. “It’s definitely a step up from where I was, even if it’s not where I expected I’d be,” he said.Rasheed isn’t alone. Figures from Statistics Canada show that the unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 stood at 14.5 per cent in August, the highest it’s been since 2010. Figures from July show that just under 54 per cent of young Canadians were working, the lowest rate since 1998. (Both comparisons exclude the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic).’Young people are not lazy’Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that young people struggling to find work aren’t looking “hard enough.”But economics professor Mikal Skuterud, who teaches hundreds of students at the University of Waterloo, says younger people aren’t to blame for the problems they’re facing.“Young people are not lazy,” he told The Current. “They are as ambitious and hardworking as any generation has ever been.”He said the main issue is that fewer new jobs are being created, as employers grapple with trade uncertainty. Data suggests sectors most exposed to U.S. tariffs have been hit hardest.“[In 2022], we had one million job vacancies in this country. We are now down to below half a million. That is unprecedented. We’ve never seen such a swing in Canadian history,” he said.“That clearly is going to mean that for new labour market entrants … it’s going to be much, much harder to get that first job.”He said older generations should also consider the economic landscape that young people are facing today, from the high cost of living to a housing market that feels out of reach.Young workers are also facing the uncertainty caused by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), but he said it’s hard to yet determine who the winners and losers will be. WATCH | What’s the impact on young people’s prospects?:What the rise in youth unemployment means for young CanadiansThis summer has been a challenge for teenage job-seekers, and the Canadian labour market shows no signs of improvement for the fall. Desjardins economist Kari Norman, author of a report on youth unemployment, discusses the implications for young people’s economic prospects.That said, he thinks young people should try to take some solace in the fact that Canada has seen unemployment rates like this before, adding that “14.5 per cent unemployment in a business downturn is not exceptional.”“I know that it feels like it’s incredibly discouraging … but I think it’s also important to put where we’re at in perspective,” he said.“We saw this in the early ’90s. We saw it in 2008. We saw in 2014 … and that will turn around. I’m very optimistic because history tells us it will.”Make yourself stand out: expertGaby Kurta graduated with a legal assistant diploma from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology earlier this year. She’s also heard comments that her generation could be working harder — but says she’s applied for 70 jobs in the last couple of months. She hasn’t been successful, and is working retail to make ends meet.“It’s hard to hear that because, of course, all of us are putting in as much effort as we can to get these jobs,” she said.Her advice to her fellow graduates is to just keep applying, because she believes it will eventually pay off.Skuterud shares that optimism, suggesting that while young people wait it out, they should invest in skills that increase their chances of landing a job.“Making yourself special in a labour market — in the sense that you have scarce skills that other people don’t have — that’s your best bet,” he said. Audio produced by Emma Posca and Juliana Konrad