Canada has a paradox at the heart of its labour market. The country leads the G7 for the most educated workforce and is producing more graduates than ever before. Yet for millions of young Canadians, the path from school to stable work has never been harder.
Between 2022 and 2025, vacancies for jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree and fewer than three years of experience fell by more than half.
About 40 per cent of Canadian graduates are underemployed, and youth unemployment reached 15 per cent in September 2025, more than double the adult rate and the highest in 15 years outside the pandemic.
