When it comes to finding a job, Jadyn Silva isn’t picky.
“I’m just looking for a part-time job to go with my studies,” she said. “Just something very basic, even like minimum wage.”
Since the beginning of 2025, the 21-year-old Toronto Metropolitan University philosophy student has been applying for jobs online.
Silva said she recently updated her resume and opened up her availability to work four days a week. She said she applies for around 10 jobs a month, but nearly every application is met with silence.
“I always have the experience that is required on the job posting, but it just never seems to go anywhere,” she said. “I’m frustrated. … It’s not like I’m not doing anything.”
Silva’s struggle finding work is not unique among her age group.
In February 2025, Ontario had the third-highest youth unemployment rate across all provinces. Out of Ontario’s 15 to 24 year olds, 15.5 per cent struggled to find work, a Capital Current analysis of Statistics Canada’s labour force survey found.
While unemployment in Ontario for this cohort dropped from the January 2025 rate of 17.1 per cent, it remains well above its pre-pandemic level of 9.8 per cent.
Amber Castillo, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa’s director of employment services, told Capital Current, that Ontario’s current high youth unemployment rate can be explained by the fact that the tourism and hospitality industries, which were “extremely hard” hit by the pandemic, are still struggling.
“We are still in the recovery position within that sector and that is the sector in which many youth found employment,” Castillo said.
Young people “overwhelmingly” work in service industries, Gordon Betcherman, a retired labour economics and unemployment expert from the University of Ottawa, says.
“When the economy slows down, hiring in those services tends to be cut back. When you have a down period economically, that’s one sector that you know you would see fewer job opportunities in,” he said.
Going forward, tariffs imposed by the United States may also influence young people’s participation in the employment market, Betcherman added.
“These are big shocks to the economy and it’s usually young people who are more vulnerable to them,” he said.
“If employers need to lay off workers, they do it on a seniority basis. If there’s less new jobs being created, that’s a problem for young people who are trying to enter the labor market.”
Castillo also said tariffs may complicate young people’s ability to find a job.
“The competition will be of higher volume based on the fact [that] there’ll be more people seeking employment at every level due to the job loss created through the trade wars,” she said. “Youth are now in competition with a large volume of higher-skilled and more experienced workers.”
Overall, young people face more competition than they did five years ago, Castillo said, because of fewer available jobs and more job-seekers, including people who didn’t work during the pandemic or newcomers to Canada.
Silva said the inability to find a job impacts her financial and social decisions, particularly as someone who pays around $60 per week to commute to and from campus.
“I find myself … not going to school events or even if a class is not mandatory, I’ll end up skipping it, which has an impact on my grades,” she said. “I also find myself choosing cheaper meal options when I’m at school over healthier options.
“It’s been anxiety-inducing.”
Silva said she also feels her inability to find a job will affect her future after April 2026, when she’s planning to graduate.
“I want to have some money saved up,” she said, adding that today’s economic climate and looming tariffs make her extra “wary.”
Castillo said it’s important for service centres and employers to ensure young people have access to resources helping them secure employment.
“Youth are the future of our economy, the future of our workforce,” she said. “There really needs to be emphasis on … educating and supporting employers on what youth need, what their expectations are [and] how we can support them.”
While Silva said she hasn’t reached out to job clinics, she said more support with resume and cover letter writing could help her be more prepared in her job search going forward.
“I’ve been on LinkedIn. … I’ve been looking at future prospects like who’s hiring and how I can support myself,” she said. “I want to get ahead.”
