NEET Kids: Efforts to Lower Canada’s Worrying Unemployment Rate – A Better Future

If you think it’s hard to get a job now, try being young.

The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that youth unemployment rose to 14.1 per cent in February, and is approaching a September 2025 high of 14.6 per cent, not seen since the recession of 2010.

It’s a number that Tim Lang, president and CEO of Youth Employment Services Toronto doesn’t like.

“We usually see these types of numbers in recessions,” he said.

“Suddenly we have news of interest rate threats and companies being cautious with interest rates… and if we fall down too, it would be a perfect storm. It would be very difficult for young people.”

Youth Employment Services provides career counseling, skills training and conducts job placement programs across Canada.

Young people aged 15-24 coming through the doors recently are facing new challenges, Lang said.

He said: “When they come to us, they are desperate.

19-year-old Althea can also relate.

The Winnipeg teenager, who said he is currently enrolled at the University of Manitoba, has been looking for a part-time job since graduating high school in June 2025.

He said: “I mean I’ve sent out hundreds of CVs. It’s like they all go into a big black hole and nobody ever calls you back.

He has done many things to try to get his foot in the door at any retail or restaurant job. He said he has had his resume reviewed by experts, does volunteer work and has reached out to friends and family for help.

“My mother told me to submit paper copies of my report but everywhere I went, they told me to apply online.

“You look at sites like True and there’s a lot of fraud, a lot of places that say they’re looking for people but then they want five years of experience for minimum wage…

According to Statistics Canada, the growing number of NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) youth “has raised long-term concerns about youth unemployment, who may be at risk of economic and social problems.”

A 2018 study by non-profit public policy group Blueprint found that NEET youth face many barriers to employment, including family care, transportation, mental health and housing.

In the survey, 47 per cent of young people surveyed in Ontario said there are not enough jobs where they live, and 38 per cent said the jobs available are not suitable for them.

The study recommended a number of actions for policymakers and the government, including better coordination between employment services, strengthening mental health supports, adopting a holistic approach that addresses complex needs, and improving data.

Little has been done to implement any of those ideas, Lang said.

Unfortunately, nothing has improved, in many ways, it has gotten worse, the houses are more difficult.

“Mental health issues with young people seem to be on the rise. So the issues are still there.”

As young workers struggle for longer, it affects their mental health and long-term wages, Lang said, known as “wage beams.”

He said: “When you spend a year or more out of work, this affects their income for 20 years out, ​​30 years out.”

A 2024 study conducted by Kings Trust Canada and Deloitte shows significant, long-term consequences for young people and the communities they live in, including lost GDP, increased government spending, higher criminal justice and health care costs, intergenerational conflicts and a loss of trust in the public system.

Therefore, it is important to invest in programs that help young people find jobs, said Lang.

“The ROI is for every $1 invested, it shows that it returns $3 to the economy in terms of tax revenue and a reduction in public services and much more.”

Barriers to meaningful employment for young people

While AI gets much of the blame for the difficulties people of all ages have in finding meaningful work, there are many obstacles for young people, said Akosua Alagaratnam at FirstWork.org.

“Now, [most work] youth programs are combined with programs for people in general,” he said.

“The thing is, if you have an 18-year-old, they don’t behave the same way as 30-year-olds, do they?

“Young people need time to examine themselves, to understand what they want to do in their lives. Can we get past that?”

The membership organization is working hard to bridge the gaps they are told exist between young people and business owners.

For example, he said, restaurants tell FirstWork that young people are not asking for jobs, while young people are telling FirstWork that they are not getting interviews in restaurants.

Alagaratnam found that restaurants were willing to hire new workers, but wanted them to have years of experience, which “wasn’t a request before,” he said.

So FirstWork is working with Restaurants Canada on an employer tool to help restaurant owners and young people collaborate.

Another major problem is youth anxiety levels, which are currently the highest ever recorded, according to Statistics Canada.

“We’re seeing this on the ground,” Alagaratnam said.

Employers have told him stories of being unable to make eye contact or bringing their parents to job interviews to manage that anxiety.

So (employers) are trying to say ‘How can we better engage with these young people?'”

At YES, Lang said they have a program called the Lighthouse Project that specifically helps young people dealing with mental health issues find work.

The program also helps reduce the stigma of hiring people with mental health issues, he added.

“We all have mental health issues from time to time in our lives,” he said.

“If they are willing to allow us to reveal it to prospective employers, then we work with employers to train them or give them a manual on how they can help young people at work.

– Tim Lang

Lang says they often work with smaller employers that don’t have strong DEI or HR systems, so they can be wary of going into specific areas.

“The good news is that the data shows that people with mental health disabilities, if you welcome them in small ways … they can be your most productive and long-term employees,” said Lang, ultimately reducing costs.

“I’m old enough to remember, 30 years ago, when Canada and the world were changing by helping people with physical disabilities, such as wheelchairs and accessible roads,” said Lang.

“Well, we don’t realize it, but for those hundreds of thousands of people it changed lives.”

Having mental health shelters built into jobs is the next step, he said.

Soon, we won’t notice it, yet it will change the lives of hundreds of thousands, maybe millions.

Despite the roadblocks, Alagaratnam said the youth are not only looking for jobs but also want to bring about a positive change in their work.

“This young generation is driven by a purpose,” said Alagaratnam.

“They’re driven to be influential, they’re driven to care about everything around them … so they’re doing all the right things, like going to school, doing everything their parents tell them to, but they’re still dealing with a struggling economy?”

What governments and schools can do

All levels of government could do a better job of ensuring supports, such as mental health supports, are available and encouraging careers beyond the typical university education, Lang said.

“You look at Germany, their youth unemployment rate is half of ours,” he said, noting that the German education system is making a concerted effort to reduce the stigma of vocational jobs by funding high school programs.

And while organizations like YES are important in helping young people transition from school to work, Lang said colleges and universities need to be more proactive.

“We started a cyber security program because it’s a very in-demand area. We have a new one in AI … these programs that we can run quickly.”

Governments and schools can also be intentional about collaboration, Alagaratnam said, noting that FirstWork encourages collaboration but says it is not mutually exclusive.

Instead, the government, schools and public providers should be present in high schools or close to high schools and post-secondary institutions so that students who leave schools “know exactly where to go when they need more support, exactly who to go to, to get the basic information they need to improve and prepare for work.”

What employers can do

Alagaratnam and Lang both said that employers need to actively engage to help understand the challenges young workers face.

“One thing I’ve heard time and time again is that they need to get to know the young people themselves, see them in person versus seeing the millions of resumes that appear online,” Alagaratnam said.

He added that this old school method of drilling the pavement can be good for employers and young people.

For the desperate youth

Alagaratnam said he remembers the desperation to find work after graduation during the 2008-2009 recession, when youth unemployment reached 19 percent at one point.

So what I’m going to say is, ‘Go ahead.’

“After applying, sometimes, to hundreds and hundreds of places, you have to stay positive because when you get that interview, people can hear if you’re a little down,” Lang repeated, noting that it’s not easy to do.

Both encouraged young people to take advantage of resources like YES, FirstWork, and other organizations that connect them with employers and help them prepare for a job or promotion.

“Look for free resources that are available in every community because they can be very helpful,” said Lang. “There’s training, there’s free counseling.”

Alagaratnam added: “They are paid for by the government.

“Go and use it as much as you can because they’re going to have summer job opportunities. They’re going to know about people you meet in the community who want to hire, and that’s how you connect your next role.”

Volunteering is also a good way to learn if the job a young person is considering is right for them, he added.

“Try to find opportunities that allow you to be in front of those people so they can get to know you as a person.”