A new report about Toronto’s youth unemployment crisis found that young people are not asking handouts and asking for appropriate reach for employment.
The Toronto Youth Employment Postcard Report is a “youth-propelled policy document” developed by Toronto Youth Cabinet and other community groups developed by Neberhood Group Community Services. It was unveiled at the city hall on Thursday.
“This report reflects more than a year of community counseling, frontline insight and youth-led research, which outlines the immediate need to expand meaningful and beneficial job opportunities for young people-especially in a heat where young unemployment and young violence continues to grow in our city,” a release is said in a release.
Serena Nudel, director of community programs at the Nebarhood Group Community Services, spoke to breakfast television on Thursday before the release of the report, and said that a major tech from the report is that the youth want to work and are ready for it.
“They are looking for opportunities and they are ready to work and we need to be able to create opportunities for them so that they are able to flourish and succeed in the future, so that their parents are able to receive opportunities that their parents did, that the previous generations are near, so that they are able to succeed,” Nudel said.
According to the report, the youth unemployment has increased to the highest level seen since 2016, except for the peak of the Kovid -19 epidemic.
According to the statistics Canada, the national youth unemployment rate remained stable at 14.2 percent in June and “a 10.8 percent pre-psychothe average” recorded from 2017 to 2019 “was quite above.
The report said, “With a decrease in youth-specific employment programs at every level of the government, youth from across the city are facing limited access to meaningful, profitable work,” the report states.
It also found some groups, including racial, indigenous, newcomers, 2SLGBTQ+, people with disabilities, low -income and people living in Toronto Community Housing, “affects obstacles for employment.”
The report has been made from a city-wide postcard campaign launched in 2024, which gave voice to the students facing a difficult job market. In partnership with Toronto Youth Cabinet, Neberhood Group Community Services, heard directly from 7,265 youth, who shared their experiences, aspirations and challenges through the city-wide postcard survey.
On Breakfast Television, Nudel shared some messages that they have received from young people.
“They are saying that they have such a difficult time because they have no experience, so they are unable to get a job and they are unable to get a job because they have no experience. So we do the youth hundreds of applications and do not listen to employers back,” said Nudel.
“We saw a lot of youngsters saying that they need to make money to be able to support themselves and their family, whether it is a savings for the university, whether it is for their personal needs, but what we are really listening to is that they want to contribute to their family as well. So they are not looking for a handout, they are just looking for an opportunity,” they said.
Of the major findings (as released in the report):
- 64 percent of the youth said that a job will reduce their dependence on parents and help control them
- Their financial life to support with immediate needs like food, rent and transport
- 75 percent of the respondents said that a meaningful job should be aligned with its passion, values, or a sense of purpose – including opportunities to give back their communities back
- 74 percent of the youth cited structural, systemic or logical obstacles – including transport,
- Competition to responsibilities such as inaccessible job space, and school or care.
- 77 percent reported that qualification, pre -experience or lack of training stopped him from reaching opportunities.
- Nearly 60 percent stated how their identity or employers believe them (breed, age, language, gender, disability) created obstacles for employment – made discrimination the most quoted challenge.
The report also found a connection between young unemployment and youth violence in Toronto.
“We are hearing that young voices say that if they had a job, if they had development opportunities, if they expect, that it would overcome them from confusing in violence. As we look at the growing violence in the city, we need every solution, which we can help address it,” said Nudel.
“Different levels of the government need to come together. We need a private sector. We need social service agencies. We all need to go to the table to come together with a solution. A problem of this magnitude is not solved by a group alone. It involves a real collaborative effort if we are really going to make a difference.”
The city council had passed a resolution to make 10,000 additional youth jobs by summer of 2026.
“We see that there has been a commitment to the city hall, but we really need to come together to move it forward. We see it in paper, but now we need to see it in action. We need to see various levels of the government. We need to see leadership from the city. We need to come together, and I think it is going to make a difference,”
Read the full report below:
With files from Canadian press