National

B.C.'s youth unemployment rate second-highest in Canada with 16.6 per cent in May

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Jun, 2025 11:42 AM

High school students walking across graduation stages this month will step into an uncertain job market as B.C. has the second-highest youth unemployment rate in Canada.

Figures released by Statistics Canada this month show the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among people ages 15 to 24 was 16.6 per cent in May, up from 13.4 in April 2025 and up from 10.5 per cent in May 2024.

Only Alberta has recorded a higher unemployment rate in that age category with 17.2 per cent, while the national youth unemployment rate is at 14.2 per cent.

B.C.'s youth unemployment rate for May 2025 is below the rate of June 2020, when the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among youth hit 28.6 per cent based on figures from Statistics Canada because of COVID-19.

But the current unemployment rate among youth exceeds youth unemployment 15 years ago when it hit annual peak of 15.6 per cent in June 2010 in the midst of the so-called Great Recession caused by the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

B.C.'s overall employment rate for May 2025 was 6.4 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent in April 2025 and 5.6 per cent in May 2024.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Matt Rourke

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Drug deaths in B.C. drop 13 per cent, hitting four-year low of 2,253

The BC Coroners Service says toxic drug deaths in British Columbia were down 13 per cent last year, with the toll now lower than any year since 2020. Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan says the decline is consistent with elsewhere in Canada and internationally, but doesn't mitigate the fact that 2,253 people died of overdoses in B.C. last year, or the grief felt by their loved ones.

Drug deaths in B.C. drop 13 per cent, hitting four-year low of 2,253

Metro Vancouver to stay cold for at least a week with wintry road conditions

This week's wintry blast of snow in Metro Vancouver will likely remain on the ground, with below-average temperatures forecasted well into next week. Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau says while temperatures may moderate slightly during the daytime over the weekend, whatever's melted will likely refreeze at night.

Metro Vancouver to stay cold for at least a week with wintry road conditions

B.C. puts its response to U.S. tariffs on hold after 30-day delay

British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government will pause its response to threatened American tariffs after a 30-day reprieve was negotiated today between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump.

B.C. puts its response to U.S. tariffs on hold after 30-day delay

Ontario PCs pledge billions in stimulus that would flow after election if tariffs hit

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is defending simultaneously wearing two hats — campaigning in a snap election he called and taking anti-tariff actions as premier. This is a bad time for Ontario to find itself in an election, the other political party leaders say, amid the chaos of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Ontario PCs pledge billions in stimulus that would flow after election if tariffs hit

B.C. wildfire crews return from California deployment to combat L.A. fires

More than 30 firefighters from British Columbia's Wildfire Service have returned home from a deployment fighting large fires that destroyed thousands of homes around Southern California. The Ministry of Forests say the crews are part of two separate groups, the first consisting of 13 technical specialists who were deployed on Jan. 11 to support the effort to combat the Palisades wildfire in L.A.

B.C. wildfire crews return from California deployment to combat L.A. fires

B.C. Court of Appeal orders new trial for husband in 'rape role-play' case

The B.C. Court of Appeal says a man convicted of sexually assaulting his wife deserves a new trial because messages between the pair about a consensual "rape role-play" scenario were wrongfully excluded as evidence. The ruling released on Friday says the complainant and accused, who can't be identified under a publication ban, were married but separated at the time of the alleged sexual assault in November 2019.