The Decibel - Why the job market is hitting new grads especially hard

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

Right now, the Canadian job market is tough. Unemployment is the highest it’s been since 2016, excluding the pandemic lockdown years. Young people and new grads are facing especially bleak job prospects. They’re worried not just about their employment, but also their future careers and long-term financial planning.Meera Raman is the retirement and financial reporter for The Globe and Mail. She’s on the show today to explain why the job market is so bad for young people, what the potential long-term implications might be and what they can do if they find themselves struggling for work.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [e-mail]

My job search, it's been bleak to say the least. That's Emerson Lashley, a third year political science student at Queen's University in Kingston. It's just hard to keep on looking after I've been looking for a couple months at this point. I've gotten a few interviews but they've all not really went well. So the first interview, I got an interview and they just never called me. The second job, I went in for my interview and they said, well, this is kind of a waste of my time to hire you, so we're not hiring you.

In the midst of a trade war, the job market has been pretty tough. But young people have been among the hardest hit. You're like, okay, what am I gonna do with my life after this? You don't have a stability after you graduate, it feels like. Paulette Brindis Rechamir is a fourth year communication student at McEwen University in Edmonton. She applied to eight different communication internships to finish her degree.

Like when you're a student, I kind of feel like you have stability, quote unquote. You have maybe your part-time job, but like you have school, you have a plan, but after you have nothing. So it definitely gives you a sense of, okay, I'm super lost. So I think I feel lost. Not only are young people concerned about how to start their careers, they're also thinking about how not finding that first job will affect their financial future. So today, Mira Raman is on the show. She's the retirement and financial planning reporter for The Globe. She joins us to explain why the job market is

particularly hard for young graduates, how a delayed start can impact what you do next, and what experts say you should keep in mind when looking for work. I'm Maynika Ramen-Wilms, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. Mira, thanks so much for being here. Yeah, thanks for having me. So in a very broad sense,

what does the Canadian job market look like right now? Yes, so it's not looking great. I think one number to really illustrate that is the unemployment rate. So the unemployment rate in April was hovering around 7%. For context, that's the highest that the unemployment rate has been since January 2017, excluding the pandemic. So for a long time, it hit that rate also in November, but yeah, that's the highest it's been since January 2017. Okay, so that's the big picture. But what about recent grads and young people specifically? What's the situation like for them?

Yeah, so it's even harder for young people basically. In the first quarter of 2025, the average unemployment rate for recent graduates, so that's for people under the age of 25 and out of post-secondary school. The average unemployment rate for this group was 11.2%. That's the highest jobless rate to start the year for this group in at least 20 years, excluding the pandemic.

Okay. So this is a significantly high number than it sounds like. When you say, you know, since like the last 20 years, when was the last time, I guess, that we saw a number like this for unemployment rates of this group? We saw numbers close to this around the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the years following that and similar problems were happening. Companies were struggling, they were laying people off, slowing down in hiring, and especially with entry-level roles. We heard from some young people off the top of the show about their experiences, but what

have you been hearing from people about what it's been like trying to find a job in this situation? Yeah, I talked to a lot of young people and the biggest thing that I heard was that they are just applying for dozens and dozens of jobs with nothing to show for it. They just can't get a job and it's not for lack of trying. I talked to this one Queen's University student, Emersonerson and she said last summer she applied for 50 jobs and she's studying political science so she thought she would look for jobs in political science. That didn't work so then she expanded her search to movie theater jobs and grocery store jobs. Then that didn't even work so she didn't get

a job last summer. This summer she's like okay let me try again, sent out 40 applications and she still has nothing to show last summer. This summer, she's like, OK, let me try again, sent out 40 applications, and she still has nothing to show for it. OK, so when you're saying like 40, 50 applications, these are people who are really trying, it sounds like, and with a range of different jobs. Yeah, it's not for lack of trying. I think it's really easy to say, put yourself out there,

keep trying. It's like, no, they're trying, and they're trying very hard, and it can be really tiring too. I think some people though might ask, hasn't it always been the case that, finding a job right out of school is challenging. It is challenging when you're young, you don't have that much experience.

So I guess what exactly makes the situation different now? No, that's such a good question. Cause it is hard. Finding your first job at a university is always hard. But right now it is specifically hard. Last year we were already in a bad situation with really high interest rates, really high inflation. So companies were struggling, the unemployment rate was already pretty

high. And then this year we got hit with all this market uncertainty with the US tariffs, the tensions with the US, and all the uncertainty in the economy. So that's kind of exacerbated the problem. Companies are pulling back on hiring. They're laying off. And unfortunately, a great place to cut is entry-level rules. And there's also one more important thing that's happening right now. People right now who have jobs that are baristas

or they might be working in a grocery store, they might be in other years wanting to step into a entry-level job at, let's say, a grocery store. They might be in other years wanting to step into an entry-level job at, let's say, a corporate company. But right now, they can't even break into those entry-level roles. So they're hanging on to their barista jobs longer. They're hanging on to their movie theater roles longer. So people who are trying to find their first job, they can't get into those roles because those people are hanging on to their jobs. So it's kind of this domino effect of how it's impacting new grads.

You mentioned a little bit about interest rates and inflation. These are terms that we've heard a lot about in the last few years. Can we just dig into that a little bit more like the broader economic situation? How has this affected, you know, someone individually trying to look for this job? Yeah, so interest rates were really high last year and inflation and that was really hurting companies and they were slowing down hiring. But at this point last year, economists and job seekers were like, you know what, it's okay in 2025, it's going to get better because it did look like it was getting better.

Interest rates were cutting, inflation was getting back to that 2% target rate. Everyone was really hopeful. But then tariffs came in and all this market uncertainty. So that's kind of exacerbated this problem. Okay. I also want to ask you about the effect of the pandemic because it seems like this has affected so many parts of our lives, right?

Even years down the road. Of course that caused major disruptions in the job market. Are we still seeing the effects of that or how has that played out? So there were a lot of people struggling during the pandemic, disruptions in the job market. Are we still seeing the effects of that? Or how has that played out? So there are a lot of people struggling during the pandemic. Either they lost their job or new grads

coming out of the pandemic. And they were facing these same problems. But actually, the job market bounced back pretty quickly, relatively, for the pandemic. So in 2022, people were able to bounce back and get back on track for new grads. But there is some trickle-down effects that people haven't been able to move up the ladder as quickly

as they wanted to at their job. So like I said before, that's trickled down to new grads today. All right, so Mira, we've gone through some of the reasons why it's become such a challenge for recent grads to find work these days. Now let's actually look at the effect that this has on them as individuals.

So how can this delayed entry into the workforce workforce essentially, how can that impact their career? Yeah, so a lot of the experts I talked to told me, you know, graduating into a weak economy, graduating into recession, that can actually have a lot of long-term consequences. Not only does it slow your early career momentum, but it also slows your income growth. So if you're able to kind of get that first job when you're 21 and get FaceTime with a company and really get your feet wet in a job, that gets you on track to be able to have

a full-time permanent role in your early 20s. So that's already going to put you on track to be financially stable by the time you're in your mid 20s, something that a lot of people right now are seeming like it's impossible for them. It kind of gets back to, I think what you were saying before, right? If you can't move out of that barista role

and get that first job at some other company, then yeah, you're kind of, that whole progress is stalled then. Exactly. Do we know, because it sounds like something similar maybe happened 20 years ago, if we look at the 2008 recession there, do we know how people have fared over time? I just wonder if there were studies looking at that cohort and 20 years later where they

are. Yeah, so when we're looking at that cohort, we're really looking at millennials. It was millennials that bear the brunt of a lot of the financial crisis. And actually, millennials are doing overall pretty well right now in the job market and in their career growth, because the job market actually did bounce back. It took a long time actually after the recession of 08, 09,

but they did bounce back and they were able to make up for those years. Either they did that through getting promotions at companies or they are able to job hop more to be able to make more money. Okay, so it sounds like even if you're stalled at the start, it's not necessarily you're playing perpetual catch up for all of your career.

There are opportunities for some people then to make up for it. Of course, there's always opportunities to make up, like something that happens when you're 19, hopefully won't impact you for the rest of your life. As always, these things are cyclical, but there is a part of playing catch-up here because when you do have to start a little later

than probably previous generations had to, you do have to work a little bit harder to be able to climb that chain to get those permanent full-time positions. So in a way you are playing catch-up, but it's not something that hasn't happened before. We'll be back in a moment. All right, let's talk about the financial effects. I mean, obviously not having a job means you're

not getting that steady income, but again, let's look at kind of the bigger picture here. How does this affect people's long term finances? Okay, yes. Because this is so this is the reason why I wanted to do the story. Because a lot of what I hear from people is, oh, you know, 18 year olds, 19 year olds, they should be investing now, they should be putting, you know, 100, $200 in their TFSA because compound growth when you invest earlier, it's gonna grow earlier. Why aren't young people investing right now? But if young people can't get a job and can't make money, how the heck are they supposed to start investing and saving?

Yeah, you're probably worried about paying rent, right? Exactly, exactly. So I wanted to do the story to say, you know what, like they're trying and it's it's really hard. So it really can put you back when you can't get your first job and start saving. So one, it can make, you know, life milestones feel way out of reach, like homeownership. A lot of the young Canadians I talked to feel like, if I can't save now, then how am I ever going to afford a home even in 10 years? And then if we just look at the numbers of, like I said, missing out on compound growth. So if you invest $200 a month starting at age 30, and we're assuming a 4% annual return, your RSP savings, your retirement savings at age 65 would be around $180,000.

So it sounds pretty good. But if you start just 10 years earlier when you're 20 years old, you could end up with over 290,000. So that's a difference of more than 100K than if you start investing when you're younger. But unfortunately, just not a lot of people have that option. Yeah, you have to have that kind of extra $200 a month

in order to do that, right? Exactly. And see those returns. I have to ask you though, because like I remember when I was 19, I don't think I was that kind of extra $200 a month in order to do that, right, and see those returns. I have to ask you, though, because I remember when I was 19, I don't think I was that aware of investing and kind of so savvy in this way. Like, are young people just more attuned to their finances today, or why this focus? Yeah, I think there's two major things.

One is the rise of financial influencers or influencers. Young people are on their phones. They're on social media. And on social media is where financial influencers live. They're teaching people how to DIY invest, how to start their savings journey. So this messaging is right at the fingertips of young Canadians.

So they're learning more. It's more accessible to learn how to save. So that's more on the mind of young Canadians. So they're learning more, it's more accessible to learn how to save. So that's more on the mind of young people. And secondly, cost of living is extremely high. And that's been, you know, starting since the pandemic. And that's the formative years for this young cohort right now for new grads who are actually thinking about, you know, what adulthood will look like. This has just been pushed so hard the last couple years. So it's in these really formative years for them. It's what they're thinking about. Interesting. Okay. I can imagine that formative years for them, it's what they're thinking about.

Interesting, okay. I can imagine that would have some positives if you're talking about these Fin influencers, I think you said. Yes, yes. I mean, it's good to be aware of stuff, but I imagine that it would also cause a good amount of anxiety if you can't actually engage with that.

It's true, it's true. And like I know when I was 19, I wasn't really thinking about saving much either. But the thing is, is that it's harder now for young people to afford things at 30 than it is, you know, for 30 year olds now and they're 30, it's going to be harder. So the reality is, is that they have to start saving earlier to be able to afford to live in Canada. Okay, Mira, we've talked about a lot of problems here, a lot of big issues that people are facing.

Let's look at some potential solutions here. So I'm wondering what young people specifically can do about this. If they maybe don't have a full-time job, but maybe they have a small income, they get a little bit of money on a regular basis. What have experts said about how they can maximize that amount? Yes. Okay. So experts I talked to agree that the best way to start your

saving journey is using this method called pay yourself first. So let's say you have a little bit of income coming in every month, whether that be, you know, from your parents, from a small part-time job, let's say that's $500 or something like that. And you want to take a portion of your income and put it directly into savings automatically. So let's say you have $500 and you're going to automatically put a hundred of those dollars into your TFSA account or into your high interest savings account. And then you can freely spend the rest of that $400 and really not have to stress because you know you did your part in saving your money for that month and you're putting aside something for your future self.

So that's a great way to start your saving journey. Okay, so put it aside. Don't even think about like, should I do this or not this month? Just put it aside automatically every month. You can literally set like automatic transfers into savings accounts. So I would recommend that. Okay, great. And what did experts say about the idea of taking on debt?

Because if you're in a situation where you don't have a lot of income, that's sometimes an option for people. Definitely. So that's actually something that experts really cautioned against for young people, taking on debt while unemployed, especially high interest debt. So for example, credit card debt is really high interest. Those credit card interest rates around 20 to 22%. So being really careful how much debt you're

taking on while you don't have the ability to pay it off because it's just going to make it harder for yourself when you actually do end up landing a job. Because as soon as you land a job, then you're saddled with paying that down, I would imagine. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. And then let's go back to the issue of finding a job in the first place. The bigger issue here from the experts that you've talked to and the people you talk to, is there anything people can do to increase their chances of actually finding a position in the first place? Yeah, so the experts I talked to, they gave actually a lot of recommendations. So many recommended that young people take any opportunity that they can actually find. That

doesn't actually have to be, you know, within their field. It can just be something they're interested in and that they think the soft skills can actually help them in a future job. For example, like a camp counselor, you have to be very collaborative when you're counseling kids. You have to be very responsible. But as we talked about, it's harder to even get these jobs

that are outside of your field. So some other recommendations I've heard from them are to use this free time to actually learn in-demand skills. And you can do this for free. For example, you can learn skills related to AI by doing free courses or watching free videos on YouTube. And another big thing is building your network. I know this is such a big buzzword, networking,

building your network. But it actually really does work getting face to face with people. So you can reach out to people on LinkedIn, go to industry events, meet people because it really is who you know that can help you get a leg up. I really recommend asking your parents, asking your parents friends, asking your parents friends, friends who they know and who can help you. Everyone gets a little help sometimes and I think that's a great way to get your foot in the door. Okay, so those are three kind of concrete things here. So the, you know, taking a job

that might help you with the soft skills, even if it's not in your field, upgrading your skills and then the networking. Those all sound really, really helpful. I guess the other thing I think about is unpaid internships because this, I mean, you know, it's obviously it's not great to not be paid for work, but this is the reality of kind of getting your foot in the door in a lot of places. What did people tell you about that? It's true. And I did unpaid internships as well when I was younger. If you are in the position where you can take an unpaid job or an internship, or similarly, volunteer.

That is also a great way to get experience. It's a great way to learn these sauce fills. Unfortunately, just a lot of people are not in the position where they can take unpaid internships or volunteer. So it's really being able to balance, OK, do I have the capacity to do this? Maybe I'm living at home with my parents.

I don't have any expenses, so I can take on an unpaid internship. But, you know, a lot of people aren't lucky enough to be in that situation. So it really depends the situation that people are in. Fair. Yeah. Okay. Just to end here, Mira, I imagine that trying to navigate today's job market can be very

stressful for a lot of people, can cause a lot of anxiety if you're in this position. So again, for the people that you've talked to, what are some things to keep in mind if you're finding yourself in this spot Totally and I could totally see how someone would you know be listening to this or read my story be like This is all doom and gloom because even one person I talked to one of the young people You know she said after sending so many applications She was like why not me, what's wrong with me? You know, and that just broke my heart a little bit, you know, because I can imagine getting rejection

after rejection really just hurts that self-confidence, right? But I think it's really important to remember, one, these things are cyclical, even though the labor market right now is bad, it bounced back. Like literally look at history, every time this has happened, it has bounced back. So it will get better. And two, it's easier said than done, but don't

give up. You know, this happens and people will try and try and that perfect job will come. It just might not come right away. I was talking to one of these experts at Raymond James, which is a financial services firm and And his work partner, before he got a job there, he had applied for dozens and dozens of jobs. Before the expert at Raymond James, he noticed potential in him in his interview. I can see how it can feel really discouraging. But yeah, it's cliche advice, but don't give up.

And I think someone that you all talked to at the decibel, but yeah, it's cliche advice, but don't give up. And I think someone that, you know, you all talked to at the decibel palette and said something about this as well. We're all lost. So if you're feeling lost, don't worry, like it's completely normal. And that's at least what gives me like a little bit of, I don't know, comfort to know that it's completely fine to be lost and that it's actually going to be okay. It's just like a weird period of time. Mira, this has been so great. Thank you for being here. Yeah, thank you.

That was Mira Ramin, The Globe's retirement and financial planning reporter. That's it for today. I'm Maynika Ramin-Wilms. This episode was produced by our intern, Kelsey Howlett. Our associate producer is Aja Souter. Our producers are Madeleine White, Michal Stein, and Ali Graham. David Crosby edits the show.

Adrian Chung is our senior producer, and Matt Frainer is our managing editor. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll talk to you soon.