Canada Summer Jobs milestones
The unemployment rate for 15- to 29-year-olds in October 2024 (both student and non-student) was 12.8%. However, for under-represented groups, these rates tend to be higher.
In a survey of CSJ youth participants for 2023, 92% of youth reported having more confidence in multiple skills needed for future employment than they had at the beginning of their CSJ work experience, and 89% of youth indicated that they had developed a positive attitude about their future employment prospects, according to the government.
Since 2020, CSJ has supported employers to create more than 383,000 job opportunities for youth. CSJ 2023 surpassed its 70,000 jobs target, with 74,500 jobs created. The government is also on track to meet its 70,000 jobs target for CSJ 2024, though results are still being finalized.
To help youth in Canada pursue and achieve their dreams, the federal government is investing to create 90,000 youth job placements and employment support opportunities. Under Budget 2024, the government proposes to provide $351.2 million in 2025–26 for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy. These investments in youth job opportunities include:
- $200.5 million in 2025–26 for CSJ, to provide well-paying summer job opportunities, including in sectors facing critical labour shortages, such as housing construction.
- $150.7 million in 2025–26 for the horizontal Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program, to provide job placements and employment supports to youth.
Canada’s failure to address its youth unemployment crisis will cost the country $18.5 billion in GDP by 2034, find Kings’ Trust and Deloitte.