‘It’s a really tight labour market’: High youth unemployment a stubborn problem in Windsor-Essex

Windsor’s youth unemployment rate is also seeing high rates. CTV Windsor’s Ricardo Veneza has some tips for young people searching for jobs.

The latest jobs report from Statistics Canada shows youth unemployment nearing record levels in Windsor-Essex without any sign of relief — and a stark gap in the genders.

The June report shows those between 15 and 24 years old are struggling to find work and none more so than young men at 21.9 per cent unemployment compared to women at 11.8 per cent.

“We are nearing record levels for sure,” said Justin Falconer, CEO of Workforce Windsor-Essex. “There are approximately 8,000 persons that are youth looking for work right now in our region. That number has been as high as 10,000 in the past.”

The numbers are just plain not good, according to Falconer.

While typical barriers to employment like lack of experience and misaligned skills will be factors in the jobless figure, the tariff scheme out of the White House is having an outsized influence on Windsor’s workforce.

“We know men are disproportionately impacted. They’re three times more likely to be working in a U.S. dependent trade as compared to females,” said Falconer. “And so, that’s probably extending to youth men as well.”

It’s not the first major labour market disruption young people have had to face in the region in recent years after navigating the peaks and valleys of pandemic uncertainty.

But Falconer calls the health crisis a labour market blip while the current predicament appears more systemic due to the region’s reliance on the U.S. market.

And without reliable access, it may be youth getting the short end of the stick for the foreseeable future.

“It seems like much more of a systematic setback to return to previous economic levels,” said Falconer. “We really need Canada-U.S. trade policy to be realigned again and to sort of find that harmony.”

Job Search

The job hunt is no easy task for Windsor’s youth.

Just ask Cassandra Sieler-VanEvery, the Careerwise Team Lead at New Beginnings in Windsor which helps high-barriered youth enter the workforce.

“We’re seeing an influx of clients coming to us for our support,” she told CTV News. “I feel it’s becoming more and more typical that our younger youth are finding it harder to find employment.”

The government-funded program helps support eligible clients find work through interview training and coaching as well as assistance with things like uniforms, bus passes, and certifications.

“We will job develop with employers; going in-person, speak with the employer, and let them know some of the supports that our program can offer,” said Sieler-VanEvery.

For 18-year-old Ashish Timsina, all that effort has landed him a potential 10-day trial at Dollar Tree — and even that is tenuous.

“I want to become a real estate agent so, I’ve been looking for the sales type of positions,” said Timsina. “But you know how it is — money is needed. So, I’ve been applying wherever I can. At the end of the day, just somewhere I can get paid.”

Timsina adding, the competition for positions is fierce and admits it can be discouraging.

“When I went in there [for the interview], everybody was older than me,” said Timsina. “When I [saw] that, it really brought my hopes a little bit down. I was like, ‘Damn, this is how much people really need help right now.’”

Fellow Careerwise client, Ali Mohammed, 20, was able to find a part-time job at Swiss Chalet through a family contact but shared it’s not uncommon to see his peers go without a part-time job throughout their entire high school careers.

“I have friends like my age and everything who still have not had a job yet,” said Mohammed. “People my age still not having a job and still finding it hard for people to get an interview.”

Timsina says he’s working toward his real estate licence while Mohammed is looking to learn the electrical trade at St. Clair College to shore up their future career prospects.

When it comes to landing a job, it’s the region’s major employers that can be the toughest nuts to crack.

“We struggle when we approach some of the bigger corporations or businesses out there because they often say they have to go to head office or they’ll say that they don’t do the hiring on ground level,” said Sieler-VanEvery. “So, it’s hard to get our foot in the door with them.”

Canada Summer Jobs Program

Falconer believes the labour market challenges youth face call for more government support.

“It’s a really tight labour market,” said Falconer. “It’s important that people have opportunities to find and secure work and youth are particularly vulnerable.”

He points to the Canada Summer Jobs program as an important tool to get young people a first gig and entry into the world of work.

But the program is set to create some 45,000 fewer jobs this year compared to the 2022/23 year when it supported roughly 115,000 jobs.

“There’s been a huge reduction in sort of the amount of funding that’s available to support employers accessing Canada Summer Jobs,” said Falconer. “There’s probably some unmet demand out there.”

Unmet demand, like in Windsor, which has the highest unemployment rate in the country as it takes the U.S.-launched trade war on the chin.

“The reduction in the number of positions overall is definitely being felt in Windsor,” said Falconer. “Perhaps, in the middle of this trade disruption, it would be great to extend even more positions in Windsor than elsewhere in Canada right now.”