The Kids Are Not All Right
As is well-known, young people are still bearing the brunt of the recession. The employment rate for youth aged 15-24 last month was 55.6%, well down from 60.3% back before the recession in September, 2008 due to an increase in unemployment and an increase in those not looking for work. And the proportion of youth in part-time jobs has risen.
The Table below – data calculated by my colleague Sylvain Schetagne from the Labour Force Survey micro data file – provides some interesting detail on those in this age group still living at home. (We are responsible for the computations and interpretation.)
The total number of youth at home rose by 55,400 or 1.8% between 2008 and 2010. This may partly reflect a move back home by those who have finished their studies or lost their jobs.
As shown, the number of youth at home in full-time jobs has fallen by 94,000, or by 12.8%, and the number who are not looking for jobs has risen by 106,700 or 9.6%. This likely reflects trends primarily among the older part of the age group.
In short, if your kids are in the basement, you are far from alone.
| Â | Youth (Age 15-24) Living at Home | Â | Â | Â |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Â | Â | 2008 | 2010 | Change |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Population | Â | 3024.8 | 3080.2 | 55.4 |
| Labour force | Â | 1912.9 | 1861.7 | -51.2 |
| Employment | Â | 1665.7 | 1554.7 | -111 |
| Full-time employment | Â | 737.2 | 642.9 | -94.3 |
| Part-time employment | Â | 928.4 | 911.7 | -16.7 |
| Unemployment | Â | 247.3 | 307.0 | 59.7 |
| Not in labour force | Â | 1111.8 | 1218.5 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | Â | 12.9 | 16.5 | 3.6 |
| Participation rate | Â | 63.2 | 60.4 | -2.8 |
| Employment rate | Â | 55.1 | 50.5 | -4.6 |
I found that current youth unemployment is at 13.9%.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/labour-travail/lfs-epa/t110610a1-eng.htm
I take it that the employment rate is taken to show that more youth are giving up on trying to find a job? But from a 20 year trend, the youth unemployment seems to be on or about average for the period.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-youth-total-percent-of-total-labor-force-ages-15-24-wb-data.html
I’m not saying that this situation can’t or shouldn’t be improved, I’m just wondering why more young people moving back in with their parents after the financial crisis of 2008 is something to be deeply concerned about.
One of my buddies is always talking about your blog at work – finally came and checked it out today, nice work! I’m subscribing to your rss feed – keep on posting!