The job situation is so grim, B.C. also has the lowest participation rate among 15 to 24 year olds among all the provinces
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The labour market for young workers in B.C. has cratered in the past seven years, a new report from the Business Council of B.C. says.
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Since 2019, B.C.’s youth labour market — 15 to 24 year olds — has deteriorated to the point where fewer young people are working, fewer can find work, and a growing number have given up looking.
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“This should concern anyone who is young, has children, or employs young people,” said report author Jairo Yunis.
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The unemployment rate for young people, now about 14 per cent, is worse than at any time since the 2008 global financial crisis, with the exception of the 2020-21 pandemic years.
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B.C.’s population of 15 to 24 year olds grew by about 58,000 between January 2019 and March 2026, mostly driven by growth in temporary residents and international students. But the number of young workers declined and youth employment has now fallen to where it was in mid-2017 — erasing eight years of gains.
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Youth unemployment may drop somewhat because of the new federal policy restricting the number of international students and temporary foreign workers.
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For example, Tim Hortons announced last week that it is cutting back on foreign staff at its outlets and has vowed to hire 10,000 local employees instead, including at 80 new locations opening this year. It said about 4,000 of its 110,000 workers are part of the temporary foreign worker program.
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But the problem won’t be solved by reducing immigration targets alone, because the numbers are dire. There are now 671,000 young people in B.C., close to an all-time high, but only 347,000 were employed as of March 2026.
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There are 51,000 fewer young people working in B.C. than in 2019, and the number of unemployed youth has risen by 23,000.
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And 85,000 youth aren’t in the workforce at all. Some may be staying in school longer and relying on their parents, “but many are likely young people who have stopped looking for work because they don’t believe a job is available for them” — what economists call a “discouraged worker effect.”
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B.C.’s youth participation rate, which measures the share of young people who are either working or looking for work, has dropped to 60 per cent, the lowest since December 2001.
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Historically, youth unemployment has been higher than joblessness among older people because younger workers have less experience and are still learning how to find and keep jobs. But the gap between the two is widening, with the difference at around five percentage points in 2019 rising to around nine points in March 2026.
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Youth unemployment in 2019 was just under nine per cent and has risen to nearly 14 per cent, while adult unemployment has only risen from four to just over five per cent.
