MONTREAL — It’s getting tougher for young English speaking residents of Montreal to find work, despite a generally high level of educational achievement, says a new report.
These difficulties in the job market are causing psychological stress and a growing mental health problem, says the study prepared for Youth Employment Services, a non-profit organization that provides job search services to the English-speaking community.
The official jobless rate of 13.4 per cent for young people in Canada is nearly double the overall rate of 6.9 per cent. The real rate for youth is much higher, given that many discouraged young people have simply dropped out of the labour force and stopped looking for work.
The situation appears even worse here. Among English-speaking youth aged 15-to-24 living in the Montreal area, 42.8 per cent were not in the labour force.
YES has observed a growing number of clients with “decreased motivation, anxiety, social isolation and diminished confidence” as they attempt to transition from education or training into the world of work.
It’s an important rite of passage in many ways, both for the individual and the community.
“This transition tends to represent the advent of adulthood and the celebrated assumption of the rights and responsibilities that accompany economic independence, establishing a household and even family formation,” notes the report by consultant Joanne Pocock.
A first job can be important, not because it necessarily determines one’s future employment but because it provides a valuable period of workplace experience.
If it’s delayed or denied, then a “scarring” effect can occur. Lost wages are unlikely to be regained later and younger people are less likely to pay into the social safety net that protects seniors and society’s most vulnerable.
TD Economics has estimated that the tens of thousands of jobs lost by young people since the 2008 recession will cost the Canadian economy more than $23 billion over an 18-year period.
There were 109,600 English-speaking individuals aged 15-to-24 living in the Montreal area, according to 2006 census data. They tend to display high levels of bilingualism when compared to their elders and to the francophone community.
But historically, they have experienced unemployment rates about one-third higher than for their francophone counterparts.
A young person who is not pursuing education, employment or training is more vulnerable to health-related symptoms, which can become a “formidable barrier” to making future progress in the workplace, says the study.
It included nine interviews with YES counsellors, coaches and professionals who reported their experiences with clients.
“The youth who come to us generally have worked really hard to get their education,” said one. “They have school loans; they’re living on credit and have no financial education. They know nothing about the labour market. They are beyond receiving support from their parents.
“Some clients think about welfare, but there’s a stigma around that. Language is a huge source of anxiety. They are lost and very worried about the future.”
According to a survey of 217 YES clients, the duration of time spent searching for work, launching a business or pursuing an artistic endeavour varied from six months to more than two years.
Respondents were even more worried about their prospects than at the height of the recession in 2008-09.
“They won’t necessarily talk about it, then they start crying,” reported one intake worker. “In job search it often takes a long time, especially with the labour market in Montreal. The longer it takes, the more the anxiety increases, they worry about money, etc. and then the depression comes in and that’s when they really start to break down a lot.”
The career counsellors said they can’t work effectively on a resumé or on coaching if there is depression, anxiety, lack of focus or substance abuse by the clients.
“They feel like a failure,” said another counsellor. “They underestimate themselves a lot, very low self-esteem ... They may have been doing low-level jobs for years even though their education level is high.”
Among English-speaking clients at YES, 67 per cent have accreditation from a CEGEP, university or graduate school. But this level of educational achievement has not translated into the kind of employment success one might expect.