Adam Brown lined up a job in March with a consulting\u00a0firm in Edmonton. He just started there this week.<\/p>\n
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He counts himself among the lucky ones \u2014 luckier than many of\u00a0his friends\u00a0whose summer-job options, like those of so many students,\u00a0have\u00a0been hard-hit ever since pandemic-related restrictions took hold in\u00a0March.<\/p>\n
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Statistics Canada reported the youth employment rate dropped to 49 per cent at the outset of the pandemic, the lowest rate since comparable data began being gathered in 1976, and the unemployment rate (the proportion actively looking for work and unable to find it) hit 16.8 per cent, the highest mark since June 1997.<\/p>\n
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Job prospects may be different for different students, Brown\u00a0said, depending what they’re studying.<\/p>\n
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But \u00ab\u00a0most students are still probably having difficulties\u00a0locking down jobs,\u00a0\u00bb said Brown, the outgoing chair of the\u00a0Canadian\u00a0Alliance of Student Associations.<\/p>\n
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\u00ab\u00a0We’ll have to see as the summer progresses if job markets are\u00a0actually going to open with more availability for students. Because\u00a0the service industry in particular, I think, is going to take a lot\u00a0longer to get back on its feet.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
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On Friday, Statistics Canada will report preliminary jobs figures\u00a0for April. A broader data set on students is anticipated\u00a0next week.<\/p>\n
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The reports are expected to show the situation got\u00a0worse as economic activity contracted further. BMO is\u00a0predicting Friday’s labour force survey will show a loss of 4.5\u00a0million jobs in April, and an unemployment\u00a0rate that could hit 20\u00a0per cent.<\/p>\n
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Job postings on Indeed.com for community-services positions,\u00a0which would include many common summer jobs for students, are all sharply down from last year, said Brendon\u00a0Bernard, the website’s economist.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0At the moment, the summer-job market is going to be tough for\u00a0students,\u00a0\u00bb he said.\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0That was a key impetus for the government to launch a specific\u00a0student-oriented supplement to the emergency benefit system that was\u00a0rolled out for all workers earlier in the month.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The $9-billion aid package includes money for skills training,\u00a0wage subsidies and work placements, trying to create tens of\u00a0thousands of positions. The Liberals also retooled the popular\u00a0Canada Summer Jobs program, hoping it would help companies put\u00a0students on their payrolls.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many small businesses that use the program to help them hire students\u00a0were keen to use it, but have since voiced disappointment after\u00a0learning the additional funding or positions were only available to\u00a0those who already had\u00a0signed up to use the program, said Dan Kelly,\u00a0president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0One of the biggest challenges many employers have with student\u00a0employment is a lack of available students for the work they have on\u00a0offer,\u00a0\u00bb Kelly said.\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0This year is likely to be somewhat different, as many employers\u00a0have reduced their regular workforce.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Federal figures published Wednesday show that 7.59\u00a0million people applied for the Canada Emergency Response\u00a0Benefit prior\u00a0to Tuesday, and the treasury is paying out $28.57\u00a0billion in benefits. The program has a budget of $35 billion, and\u00a0targets workers who have lost jobs or work opportunities or now earn\u00a0less than $1,000 per month as a result of the pandemic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many students have been able to access the $2,000-a-month\u00a0benefit, Brown said, but there are gaps in the program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jamie Woodward fell through one of them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 17-year-old started working two part-times jobs in January \u2014\u00a0one at a grocery store, another at a restaurant in the Ottawa area \u2014\u00a0only to see his hours cut in March. He, like other young people\u00a0predominantly employed in the service sector, lost his restaurant\u00a0hours when the establishment closed, and the grocery store has cut\u00a0back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Friends who lost their jobs have received federal aid, Woodward\u00a0said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0I have someone who’s got $3,000 from CERB, which doesn’t make any sense,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Woodward continues to work\u00a0but doesn’t seem to qualify for any\u00a0federal programs. He’s also waiting on details of the federal\u00a0government’s student aid programs to see if there’s anything there\u00a0that could help.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos said Wednesday that\u00a0the government will soon provide more specific information about the\u00a0design of the student supports. He said payments to students should\u00a0be as swift as payments for the CERB.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The $1,250-a-month benefit for post-secondary students is\u00a0targeted at those whose finances are affected by the pandemic, with\u00a0payments covering May to August.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nSome small businesses say they’ve been frozen out<\/h2>\n
Falling through the cracks<\/h2>\n