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Durham’s Labour Market at the Close of 2025: Stability, Shifts, and What Comes Next

January 8, 2026 1:26 pm Leave a Comment

As 2025 came to a close, Durham Region’s labour market remained active, though signs of seasonal and structural adjustment became more apparent. The Q4 2025 Labour Market Insights Report highlights continued employer demand, steady participation across key sectors, and shifting hiring patterns as the year ended.

Between October and December 2025, employers posted 12,059 active job postings, with 3,487 unique employers hiring across the region. While hiring volumes eased slightly compared to Q3, this pattern aligns with typical year-end trends rather than a decline in overall labour demand. The average job posting remained open for 18.5 days, indicating that some employers are taking longer to fill roles.

What this means for Durham Region:

The data points to a labour market that remains stable but increasingly selective. Employers continue to hire, but competition for workers, particularly in high-demand and essential roles, is influencing recruitment timelines and expectations. For jobseekers, this indicates a labour market that is still offering opportunities, but one where competition and skill alignment matter more than they did earlier in the year.

About the DWA:

The DWA creates an annual plan supplying helpful information for community planning. Next month, the DWA will release its annual Labour Market Plan (LMP).

The plan focuses on the following:

• Durham Region demographics change, migration trends in and out, educational attainment of residents, and changes in employers in the local area by employee size and 3-digit NAICs.
• Enhanced Jobs First Durham (JFD) data extracted from the DWA’s boutique job board with hyper-local information.
• An update on Employment Ontario data.

The DWA provides just-in-time custom labour market information and often conducts custom fee-for-service research. If you are interested in local data, please don’t hesitate to contact the DWA.

The Province of Ontario partially funds the DWA to supply Labour Market Information (LMI) to the Region of Durham.

Closing Out 2025: What Durham’s Labour Market Is Telling Us

December 29, 2025 2:03 pm Leave a Comment

As 2025 comes to a close, Durham’s labour market continues to reflect a period of adjustment, not crisis, but change.

Throughout the year, the Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) tracked local labour-market conditions through the employer survey, released our 2024 workforce survey report, published quarterly labour-market insights, and conducted ongoing analysis of job postings, skills demand, and workforce trends. What emerged was a clearer picture of a labour market shaped by shifting employer needs, evolving job-seeker expectations, and increasing pressure to align skills with opportunity.

This work reinforced a core principle of DWA’s mandate: good decisions start with good data, but real impact happens when that data is used.

A Labour Market in Transition

In 2025, employers across Durham continued to face uneven hiring conditions. Some sectors experienced persistent difficulty finding talent, while others saw increased competition for available roles. Wage growth remained uneven across occupations, and demand for specific technical and transferable skills continued to change rapidly.

For job seekers, this meant navigating a labour market where opportunities still existed but often required clearer insight, stronger alignment, and more targeted job-search strategies. For service providers and educators, it highlighted the importance of responding quickly to emerging trends rather than relying on outdated assumptions.

These realities made one thing clear: local context matters.

The Data Walk: Making Labour-Market Information Accessible

This year’s Durham Workforce Data Walk brought local labour-market data out of reports and into conversation.

By organizing insights into thematic stations covering job demand, workforce trends, employer challenges, and emerging risks, the 2025 Data Walk created space for shared understanding. Employers, service providers, educators, and community partners could see how their lived experiences aligned with the data and where gaps remain.

More importantly, the Data Walk reinforced that labour-market data is not just about numbers, it’s about people, planning, and practical response.

Turning Insight Into Tools That Work

Throughout 2025, DWA continued to focus on translating labour-market insight into practical, accessible tools for the community.

Data-informed enhancements to Jobs First Durham (JFD), helping job seekers better understand where jobs are being posted, which occupations are in demand, and what skills employers are looking for. Employers and service providers used local insights to refine hiring strategies, tailor programming, and support people more effectively as they navigate work and training decisions.

This approach reflects DWA’s role as a connector, ensuring that labour-market information is usable, local, and relevant.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we move into 2026, uncertainty will continue to shape the labour market. Economic conditions will evolve, technology will influence how work is done, and workforce pressures will remain.

What will not change is the need for clear, local, evidence-based information and tools that help people act on it.

In the year ahead, we encourage job seekers, employers, and service providers across Durham to make full use of Jobs First Durham:

• Explore the Jobs Board and Job Map to see where opportunities exist locally

• Use the Resume Builder and Cover Letter Generator to align applications with employer expectations

• Access the Career Library and Skills Demand insights to make informed decisions about training, job search, and career pathways

As always, DWA remains committed to supporting a labour market that works better for everyone in Durham, informed by data, strengthened through collaboration, and focused on real-world impact.

Thank you to all those who contributed to DWA’s research, attended the Data Walk, completed surveys, and engaged with our tools throughout 2025. We look forward to continuing this work together in 2026.

Workforce Insights from the 2024 DWA Workforce Survey & Jobs First Durham

November 27, 2025 12:05 pm Leave a Comment

The final stop on the 2025 Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) Data Walk brought together two powerful tools for understanding Durham’s labour market: the 2024 DWA Workforce Survey and the Jobs First Durham online platform.

Together, they provide a comprehensive picture of how people in Durham Region live, work, and plan for the future, and how real-time data can help job seekers, employers, and community partners make better decisions.

The 2024 Workforce Survey: A Local Snapshot

Every year, the DWA alternates between its Employer Survey and Workforce Survey, capturing both sides of the labour market, supply and demand. The 2024 Workforce Survey focused on the supply side, gathering data from residents across Durham to better understand who makes up the local workforce, their education and employment experiences, and what supports they need to succeed.

The survey received 795 responses, exceeding the sample size required for statistical confidence. DWA staff and partners collected data through extensive outreach, visiting food banks, hosting workshops, and attending community events, to ensure broad participation and representation.

Who Makes Up Durham’s Workforce?

The 2024 survey findings show a highly educated and diverse community:

• 69.6% of respondents had completed post-secondary education.

• Durham exceeded provincial and national averages for college and university credential holders — 28.5% higher than Ontario’s average and 67% higher than Canada’s average.

• The top five fields of study were Business, Education, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Health, and Mathematics/Computer Science.

Age representation was strong across all working-age groups, with the most significant number of respondents aged 30–34. The gender distribution mirrored that of the 2021 Census, with 57% identifying as female and 41% as male.

Employment Patterns and Priorities

Of all respondents, 60% were employed, either full-time, part-time, self-employed, or seasonally, while 22% were unemployed and 11% were students.

Key findings include:

• A clear connection between education and employment, those with university credentials were most likely to be employed.

• Work–life balance ranked as the top priority across all employment categories.

• Among unemployed respondents, 80% wanted to return to work, but 76% felt they needed more hands-on experience to do so.

• Job fairs and online job boards were the most commonly used job search resources across all groups.

The results highlight a motivated, qualified workforce that is often seeking better opportunities for experience, advancement, and stability.

Community Connection and Retention

Durham residents show strong ties to their community; 79% planned to stay in the region for at least the next five years. Those considering a move cited housing, work opportunities, and family as their top reasons.

Respondents called for improvements in affordable housing, public transportation, healthcare access, and local job opportunities, underscoring the close link between economic development and community well-being.

Jobs First Durham: Turning Data into Action

The Jobs First Durham (JFD) platform transforms workforce data into an accessible, real-time tool for the public. It combines job postings from over 50 online sources, refreshed hourly, to provide the most accurate picture of local labour market activity.

The platform’s 16 interconnected tools fall into four categories:

1. Career Development Tools – Help individuals explore future careers, learn about required skills, and plan career paths.

2. Job Search Tools – Pull all local postings into one place, saving job seekers time and helping them compare wages and qualifications.

3. Community Data Tools – Provide demographic, wage, and occupation data for employers and policymakers.

4. Reports and Analytics – Give organizations deeper insight into trends, such as top occupations, skills demand, and industry shifts.

What makes JFD unique is its local focus. The data reflects only Durham Region, not provincial or national averages, giving users an authentic view of their local job market.

Employers can use JFD to understand wage trends and competition for talent, while job seekers can use it to find meaningful, well-matched opportunities close to home.

Connecting Research and Reality

The combination of the Workforce Survey and Jobs First Durham tools demonstrates DWA’s commitment to evidence-based decision-making. The survey provides a human perspective on who Durham’s workers are, while JFD provides the data infrastructure to see how the labour market behaves in real time.

Together, they empower educators, service providers, and policymakers to create programs that align with community needs, supporting both immediate employment outcomes and long-term economic growth.

Learn More

Explore the full 2024 Workforce Survey Report and the Jobs First Durham tools at durhamworkforceauthority.ca.

For organizations interested in learning more, the DWA offers no-cost sessions on using JFD tools to support job seekers and workforce planning.

Building Durham’s Workforce: Skills, Trades, and the Future of Energy

November 20, 2025 12:16 pm Leave a Comment

Durham Region’s economy is built on skilled talent, from electricians and mechanics to engineers and technicians, driving our clean energy future. The 2025 Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) Data Walk showcased how two key sectors, Skilled Trades and Future Energy, are shaping the region’s growth and long-term resilience.

These two topics highlight how Durham’s workforce combines tradition and innovation, maintaining its strong foundation in skilled trades while positioning itself at the forefront of Canada’s energy transition.

Skilled Trades: A Foundation for Growth

Apprenticeships and skilled trades are essential to the health of Ontario’s economy, driving both productivity and opportunity. The DWA receives annual skilled trades data from Skilled Trades Ontario, the agency responsible for certification, recruitment, and the promotion of trades as career paths.

Across Durham, the demand for skilled tradespeople continues to grow.

• There are nearly 10,000 construction sector certificate holders, placing Durham among Ontario’s top regions.

• The number of apprenticeships has increased significantly between 2020 and 2025 — for example, Automotive Service Technicians rose from 100 to 178, Electricians from 22 to 172, and Plumbers from 51 to 101.

• The average age of skilled trades workers is 42, with nearly one in three aged 55 or older, underscoring an urgent need to attract and train the next generation.

As many tradespeople near retirement, apprenticeship programs will play a vital role in sustaining the skilled labour force that supports Durham’s infrastructure, housing, and industrial sectors.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Trades

The DWA continues to include diversity data in its research. Across the skilled trades, newcomers and racialized workers express strong interest in these careers but face barriers to entry and advancement, including hiring discrimination and unwelcoming job site environments.

While visible minority representation in Durham’s apprenticeships remains lower than among non-visible minority counterparts, Black, South Asian, and Filipino apprentices show the highest participation rates among racialized groups.

Creating a more inclusive trades workforce is not only a matter of equity, but it’s also essential to meeting future labour demand and ensuring that all community members can access high-quality, well-paying careers.

Future Energy: Powering the Next Generation

Durham is home to Ontario’s nuclear industry, advanced energy research institutions, and emerging clean energy technologies, all of which are key components of the Future Energy Cluster.

This cluster includes industries tied to energy production, distribution, waste management, and environmental remediation, ranging from battery and generator manufacturing to nuclear innovation. The energy sector accounts for over 10% of Canada’s GDP and supports 285,000 jobs nationwide.

With electricity demand projected to double by 2050, Ontario’s clean energy transition will create significant local opportunities. Durham’s role in nuclear refurbishment, small modular reactor development, and renewable energy projects positions the region as a national energy hub.

The Skills that Power the Energy Sector

Durham’s Ontario Tech University, TrentU Durham and Durham College are central to the training of the next generation of energy professionals. The sector requires highly technical skills, particularly among engineers, electricians, and technicians.

Data from the DWA shows:

• Employment in energy-related occupations spans all age groups, though younger workers (ages 20–29) face slightly higher unemployment as they transition from education to the workforce.

• Local job postings highlight software, electrical, and mechanical engineering as the top in-demand occupations.

• Skilled trades such as steamfitters and electrical engineering technologists remain essential to energy infrastructure, with hundreds employed full-time in Durham.

These findings underscore the need to connect education and training programs directly to industry demand, ensuring a continuous supply of talent ready to power Durham’s energy future.

Looking Ahead

The DWA will continue its work to map and analyze Durham’s occupational clusters, linking workforce skills to emerging industries. Over the next year, the DWA will release reports that explore Durham’s advanced manufacturing, construction, agri-food and other key clusters and sectors, providing data to support evidence-based workforce and economic planning.  The results of these reports will be a key part of the 2026 Data Walk.

Durham’s position as a leader in both skilled trades and energy innovation demonstrates the strength of a community that learns, adapts, and builds for the future.

Learn More

For more details, visit the DWA’s Research and Reports page to read the Pathways to Skilled Trades Report and learn more about Durham’s emerging Future Energy Cluster.

Labour Market Dynamics: Jobs, Unemployment, and Vacancy Pressures

November 13, 2025 12:13 pm Leave a Comment

Durham Region’s labour market continues to evolve as employers navigate worker shortages, job seekers face barriers to employment, and new economic forces reshape hiring patterns.

At the 2025 Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) Data Walk, two key research stations, Unemployment and Job Vacancies & Business Obstacles, explored how these challenges intersect. Together, they tell an important story about the state of work in Durham Region: where opportunities exist, who is being left out, and how employers are adapting to ongoing labour pressures.

Youth Unemployment: Higher Than the Average

Nationally, youth unemployment is often twice the adult rate. In August 2025, it reached 18.4%, underscoring the challenges young people face as they enter the workforce. For visible minority youth, the unemployment rate was even higher, reaching 33.9% in the 2021 Census.

Youth unemployment is driven by a combination of factors:

• Automation: Entry-level jobs, such as cashier or frontline service roles, are increasingly being replaced by self-checkouts or digital systems.

• Limited networks: Many young people lack professional connections that lead to early job opportunities.

• Skills mismatch: Training doesn’t always align with employer needs, creating gaps even in times of high labour demand.

• Economic conditions: Seasonal hiring patterns and declining job vacancies in youth-heavy sectors like retail and food service make it harder to find work.

Visible Minority Youth Face Additional Barriers

The DWA’s custom data shows that racialized youth experience disproportionately high unemployment rates.

• Southeast Asian male unemployment reached 40%, while Black female unemployment was 26%, both significantly above the 18.2% rate for non-visible minority youth.

These disparities stem from systemic issues such as discrimination in hiring and a lack of access to mentors or career networks. For young people entering the workforce, this creates long-term effects, including labour-market scarring, lower earnings, increased risk of future unemployment, and lower job satisfaction.

Why It Matters

When youth face barriers to employment, the entire community feels the impact. Missed early career opportunities reduce lifetime income, weaken productivity, and limit the talent available to local employers. Addressing these barriers is essential to maintaining Durham’s economic growth and ensuring that no demographic is left behind.

What Employers Are Facing

While some job seekers struggle to find work, many employers continue to report difficulty filling positions. Data from Statistics Canada’s Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) and the Survey of Business Obstacles reveal persistent hiring challenges in several sectors.

Job Vacancies

• Ongoing, full-time vacancies are most common in Trades, Transport and Equipment Operation, followed by Sales and Service, Business and Administration, and Healthcare.

• Vacancies have remained high year over year, from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, suggesting long-term skill shortages rather than short-term fluctuations.

Business Obstacles

Employers report three major workforce-related obstacles:

1. Retaining Skilled Employees – Particularly in Accommodation and Food Services, Administrative Support, and Retail Trade, where high turnover and lower wages make retention difficult.

2. Recruiting Skilled Employees – A highly competitive labour market, skill gaps, and long hiring timelines make recruitment challenging in Healthcare, Finance, and Manufacturing.

3. Labour Shortages – An aging population, skill mismatches, and uncompetitive working conditions contribute to shortages, especially in Construction, Health Care, and Administrative Services.

These issues lead to lower productivity, delayed projects, and higher operational costs for businesses across Durham Region.

Bridging the Gap

The DWA’s ongoing research helps identify strategies that connect job seekers with in-demand opportunities. Solutions discussed at the Data Walk include:

• Expanding work-integrated learning programs to help youth gain experience before graduation.

• Strengthening skills training to align education with employer needs.

• Supporting inclusive hiring practices to reduce barriers for racialized and newcomer youth.

• Promoting career awareness in trades and technical occupations, where vacancies remain high.

Through collaborative action between employers, educators, and policymakers, Durham can continue to reduce unemployment and strengthen its labour market resilience.

Learn More

Explore the latest Labour Market Insights Reports on the DWA website at durhamworkforceauthority.ca for detailed updates on job demand, job search activity, and employer hiring trends across Durham Region.

2025 Data Walk – Exploring the Stories Behind the Numbers

November 5, 2025 4:25 pm Leave a Comment

The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) hosted its 2025 Data Walk to bring local labour market information to life. The event showcased key data and trends shaping Durham Region’s economy through six themed research stations, each focused on a different aspect of our workforce.

Traditional reports can make labour market information feel abstract or hard to connect to everyday realities. The Data Walk format changes that; it invites people to move, read, and discuss, offering an interactive platform for community members, employers, educators, and policymakers to explore the data that informs decision-making in Durham Region. Participants “walk through” poster displays and speaker sessions, learning how the latest research connects to real-world issues such as skills shortages, youth unemployment, and emerging industries.  Each station combined visuals, data charts, and speaker insights to make the findings meaningful. By linking statistics to local experience, participants could see how the numbers reflect the challenges and opportunities in Durham’s workforce today.

Six Stations, One Local Story

The 2025 Data Walk featured six research stations, each focusing on an essential part of Durham’s labour market. Together, they told a story of resilience, transition, and opportunity.

1. Skilled Trades – Highlighted the growing demand for apprenticeships and certifications in Durham, including trends in diversity and age among skilled trades workers.

2. Future Energy – Showed how Durham’s energy sector is transforming with new technologies, clean energy projects, and the skills needed to support them.

3. Unemployment – Explored youth unemployment and visible minority unemployment rates, uncovering barriers and potential solutions to workforce participation.

4. Job Vacancies and Business Obstacles – Examined the challenges employers face recruiting and retaining skilled employees, and where labour shortages are most pressing.

5. Workforce Survey – Shared insights from DWA’s 2024 Workforce Survey, which collected data directly from Durham residents about employment, education, and local services.

6. Jobs First Durham Tools – Demonstrated the value of DWA’s online tools, which connect job seekers and employers while providing real-time data on job postings, wages, and skills.

Connecting Data to Action

The Data Walk isn’t just about sharing research, it’s about sparking dialogue. Participants discussed how these findings can inform workforce planning, education, and community development across Durham Region.

The event highlighted the DWA’s ongoing commitment to making local labour market information accessible and actionable. Whether it’s tracking job postings through Jobs First Durham, exploring emerging sectors like Future Energy, or addressing barriers to employment, the DWA’s research is designed to help community partners respond effectively to Durham’s evolving economy.

About the DWA:

The DWA creates an annual plan supplying helpful information for community planning. Next month, the DWA will release its annual Labour Market Plan (LMP).

The plan focuses on the following:

• Durham Region demographics change, migration trends in and out, educational attainment of residents, and changes in employers in the local area by employee size and 3-digit NAICs.
• Enhanced Jobs First Durham (JFD) data extracted from the DWA’s boutique job board with hyper-local information.
• An update on Employment Ontario data.

The DWA provides just-in-time custom labour market information and often conducts custom fee-for-service research. If you are interested in local data, please don’t hesitate to contact the DWA.

The Province of Ontario partially funds the DWA to supply Labour Market Information (LMI) to the Region of Durham.

What Jobseekers Are Looking for in Durham: Q3 2025 Insights

October 23, 2025 10:59 am Leave a Comment

As job demand remains strong, so too does jobseeker engagement. The Labour Market Insights Report for 2025 Q3 shows 38,561 total interactions across Durham Workforce Authority’s digital tools during Q3 2025, up from 34,758 in Q2.

Job Board and Search Trends

The Job Board remains the most popular resource, with 24,535 interactions and 20,289 job post clicks.
Searches were heavily concentrated in sales and service occupations, with top job titles including:

• Retail salespersons
• Material handlers
• Food counter attendants
• Home support workers

Top search keywords included “warehouse,” “retail,” “Oshawa,” and “personal support worker”, which show that Durham residents remain focused on practical, locally accessible employment.

Jobseeker Preferences

Special interest searches reveal that flexibility remains a top priority. The most commonly used filters were for work-from-home, apprenticeship, and casual employment opportunities.
This interest in non-traditional or flexible roles suggests that many job seekers are balancing employment with other responsibilities or seeking to gain experience through part-time or contract work.

Who’s Engaging and Where

Engagement levels were highest among individuals seeking sales, service, and trade-related occupations, particularly within TEER 4 and 5 skill levels.
The majority of jobseeker activity came from Durham’s largest cities, including Oshawa, Whitby, and Pickering, which aligns with the location of most job postings.

A Dynamic, Connected Workforce

Durham’s job seekers continue to demonstrate adaptability and persistence. They are leveraging multiple tools, including the Job Board and Job Map, as well as the Career Explorer, to connect with employers and explore opportunities.

As Q3 draws to a close, the balance between high employer demand and active jobseeker engagement reflects a healthy, responsive local labour market, one that continues to evolve toward greater transparency, flexibility, and opportunity for all.

Who’s Hiring in Durham? A Look at Job Demand in Q3 2025

October 16, 2025 11:58 am Leave a Comment

Durham Region’s job demand remained strong in Q3 2025, with 11,189 new job postings and 12,954 active listings overall. This consistent level of employer activity shows confidence in the regional economy and the continued need for skilled and service-oriented workers.

Top Occupations

The most in-demand jobs this quarter reflect both stability and transition within Durham’s workforce:

• Food counter attendants and kitchen helpers (NOC 65201) – 1,561 postings
• Home support workers and caregivers (NOC 44101) – 1,067 postings
• Registered and licensed practical nurses (NOC 31301, 32101) – over 1,100 combined postings
• Retail salespersons and merchandisers (NOC 64100) – 2,175 postings (still high, but continuing to decline)

These patterns highlight persistent demand in health, caregiving, and service roles—fields that have led job growth throughout 2025.

Sector Trends

The health care and social assistance sector remained Durham’s top employer, followed closely by retail trade, education, and administrative support services.
While the administrative and support sector saw a sharp 39% decline, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting continued its steady climb, showing growth for the second quarter in a row.

Wages and Skills

Wages rose modestly this quarter, with an average posted hourly wage of $28.20 and a median of $23.32. Wage increases were most notable in manufacturing, construction, and utilities, where demand for skilled trades and technical expertise remains strong.

Employers emphasized communication, customer service, and organizational skills, while roughly 85% of postings did not specify formal education or experience requirements, making many roles accessible to new entrants and career changers.

Durham’s Q3 data reinforces what we’ve seen throughout 2025: the region’s workforce remains active and opportunity-rich, but job demand continues to centre on service, care, and trade-based occupations.

Durham’s Labour Market in Q3 2025 – Steady Growth Amid Shifting Sectors

October 6, 2025 2:46 pm Leave a Comment

Durham Region’s labour market remained active and stable through the third quarter of 2025, showing both resilience and evolution. The latest Labour Market Insights Report for Q3 2025 from the Durham Workforce Authority reveals 12,954 active job postings and 11,189 new listings, continuing the upward trajectory seen earlier this year.

While the number of employers hiring dipped slightly to 3,655, the region’s job market remains competitive. The average posting duration rose to 17 days, suggesting that while demand is strong, employers may be taking more time to find the right candidates.

Sector Shifts

The health care and social assistance sector continued to lead the way with 2,060 postings, followed closely by retail trade (2,050) and educational services (994). However, some sectors saw significant declines, particularly administrative and support services (-39%) and education (-41%), likely due to seasonal trends.

In contrast, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting was the fastest-growing sector for the second consecutive quarter, up 21%, reflecting ongoing diversification in Durham’s local economy.

Wages and Job Quality

Durham’s wage levels improved again, with the average posted wage rising to $28.20 per hour. Full-time work accounted for 75% of postings, and 89% of roles were permanent, signs of a healthy and stable employment landscape.

Jobs in manufacturing, utilities, and construction saw notable wage gains, while education and professional services experienced modest decreases. The strongest individual wage growth occurred among motor vehicle assemblers, psychologists, and hairstylists/barbers.

A Labour Market in Transition

Durham’s economy is clearly evolving. Healthcare and support roles continue to expand, while retail and administrative support are cooling after several strong quarters. Employers are consistently demonstrating a demand for essential soft skills, including communication, management, and customer service, while wage transparency continues to improve.

As 2025 moves into its final quarter, Durham’s labour market stands on a solid footing, resilient, adaptive, and increasingly focused on skill-based growth that supports both employers and job seekers.

Youth Unemployment Statistics

September 25, 2025 2:35 pm Leave a Comment

Youth employment is an essential issue for Canadians. Youth unemployment in Canada is increasing: Young people in Canada are finding it more difficult to find jobs (summer and post-graduate) amid rising competition and a softening labour market.

On average, according to Statistics Canada, youth unemployment nationally tends to be twice the adult unemployment rate (in August, the overall unemployment rate was 9.4%). In other words, if the unemployment rate for a jurisdiction is five percent, the youth unemployment rate should be somewhere between 10 and 12.5 percent.

In addition, unemployment rates can be challenging because Statistics Canada does not make this data available by city.  Unemployment rates are available monthly for the census metropolitan area.  For Durham, the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) comprises Whitby, Oshawa, and Clarington. Ajax, Pickering, and Uxbridge are part of the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the York and Peel regions. Brock and Scugog are statistically too small to be included in Statistics Canada’s monthly surveys. While the Oshawa CMA is used as a proxy for Durham Region, access to CMA-level labour force data, available only in Census years, impacts community planning.

Youth unemployment averaged 18 percent from 2015 until 2025.  This aligns with youth unemployment rates from 2010 to 2015. Recently, much discussion has ensued as various community-serving organizations, Employment Ontario service providers, municipal government, federal and provincial ministries, and educational institutions attempt to determine the primary reason(s) for sustained youth unemployment and strive for solutions

Table: 14-10-0458-01

Unemployment is Different by Gender

Unemployment is higher among young men. Unemployment patterns vary across gender and age groups, there are several factors. These include racialized gaps in educational completion, uneven skills development opportunities, and a fragmented institutional support system.  Racialized youth unemployment for both sexes is significantly higher, depending on the racialized group.  For instance, the South Asian male unemployment rate is 40 percent, and the unemployment rates for Arab and Black women are 28 and 26 percent.

As Ontario and the Durham Region struggle through a shallow recession caused by ongoing economic instability resulting from tariffs, companies are sharply reducing their hiring of entry-level workers. As a result, students and new graduates are grappling to find work.  Delayed unemployment impacts productivity, economic prosperity and can lead to so-called labour market scarring as youth struggle to obtain a foothold in the labour market.

Humble Suggestions to Support Youth

• Employer Engagement by Sector to understand job vacancies and engage Employment Services to support labour market attachment
• Encourage youth to leverage Jobs First Durham’s free resources
• Business Education Workshops, Industry Roundtables,
• Create recovery jobs inventory
• Create a Durham Needs You.ca website to promote occupations in demand in the region

About the DWA:

The DWA creates an annual plan supplying helpful information for community planning. Next month, the DWA will release its annual Labour Market Plan (LMP).

The plan focuses on the following:

• Durham Region demographics change, migration trends in and out, educational attainment of residents, and changes in employers in the local area by employee size and 3-digit NAICs.
• Enhanced Jobs First Durham (JFD) data extracted from the DWA’s boutique job board with hyper-local information.
• An update on Employment Ontario data.

The DWA provides just-in-time custom labour market information and often conducts custom fee-for-service research. If you are interested in local data, please don’t hesitate to contact the DWA.

The Province of Ontario partially funds the DWA to supply Labour Market Information (LMI) to the Region of Durham.