The unemployment rate among Canadians aged 15 to 24 reached 14.1 percent in February—more than twice the national average of 6.7 percent that month, according to Statistics Canada.
The youth jobless rate peaked at 14.6 percent in September 2025, its highest level in 15 years outside the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said. It later fell to 13.3 percent in December, rose again in February, and eased slightly to 13.8 percent in March.
Regionally, Ontario recorded the highest youth unemployment rate among provinces, reaching 17.1 percent in the third quarter of 2025.
Nationally, the overall unemployment rate stood at 6.8 percent at the end of 2025, after briefly rising above 7 percent in August and September. The employment rate was 60.9 percent in December, up from a four-year low of 60.5 percent in August….