This Issue: Youth (un)Employment

Welcome to the Spring 2010 edition of The Bulletin. With this issue we look at youth employment and career development, a timely topic given the current state of youth (un)employment.

As anyone in the sector is aware, opportunities for job-seeking Canadian youth are limited. In February, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey reported an unemployment rate of 15.2% and a participation rate of 64.7% for people age 15 to 24 years. In comparison, in February 2008, the rates were 11.4% and 67.6% respectively.

Employment losses among young people are a common trait of economic downturns, yet even as the Canadian economy revives, youth are still struggling to find their place. And many enter the job market with hefty loans from post-secondary education.

The Bulletin Spring 2010 offers tools and inspiration for career practitioners as they guide youth through these challenging times. There are strategies for engaging “Generation Y”, techniques for flushing out skimpy job histories, information about on-campus recruitment, a national survey on youth employment, and reflections on the challenges and pleasures of launching young people on their career paths.

For further encouragement, here’s a finding from another recent release from Statistics Canada:

“while student debt continues to affect individuals’ finances after graduation, borrowers who complete their postsecondary education received labour market returns to their education similar to those of non-borrowers. Moreover… graduates have fared much better in the labour market than those with less education, including those with partial postsecondary studies.”

May this Spring issue of The Bulletin help energize your important work!

References:

February 2010 Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-x/2010002/t001-eng.htm

February 2008 Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080307/t080307a-eng.htm

“The financial impact of student loans”, Perspectives on Labour and Income, January 2010 Issue, Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100129/dq100129c-eng.htm