Employment prospects for younger Canadians looking for work are not as dismal as widely believed, a report released by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada today suggests.
The report argues that the peak unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 24 peaked at 15.2% during the latest recession, lower than the high of 19.2% in the 1983 downturn and 17.2% in 1992.
And young people tended to find work faster than mature workers.
In 2011, it says, 46.8% of unemployed young people found a job within four weeks, compared with 27% of mature job seekers.
The study also suggests the quality of jobs for young people has been improving during the recovery.
Young people found 32,500 higher-wage jobs over the three years to October 2011 while the number for mature workers contracted by 0.7%
A bigger challenge, the report warns, is underemployment of the young, as the proportion of those employed in lower-skilled occupations remained unchanged between 1990 and 2011, despite an increase in educational attainment.
Underemployment, it says, leads to loss of skills, knowledge and abilities, lower income, job dissatisfaction and emotional distress, which may, in turn, have health effects.
The CGAA recommends educators and employers cooperate better in tailoring training to meet the needs of business.
It also suggests governments strive to improve Canadian competitiveness, in order to promote an increase in higher-paying jobs.
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