As students head back to school this week, spare a thought for the young. It’s tough to be under 25 these days.

Not only has the jobless rate for youth climbed to heights in Canada normally only seen during a recession , a global study also suggests youth are now the unhappiest age group of all — to the extent that the mid-life crisis has become obsolete.

“The increase in youth unemployment in recent years has gone above and beyond what we would have expected to see given the broader economic backdrop,” said Andrew Grantham, senior economist with CIBC Capital Markets.

The age group of 15 to 24 is typically hit first when the labour market softens, but Grantham’s research suggests this time it’s worse than normal.

Normally, youth unemployment rises 4 percentage points in a period of weakness, but since 2022 the jobless rate among youth has shot up 5.5 percentage points.

Not only do 15-24 year-olds face “significant struggles” to find work, a rise in 20-24 year-olds working part-time suggests full-time jobs are hard to find.

One explanation is that Canada’s population boom between 2022 and 2024 increased the supply of young workers, resulting in a rise in the jobless rate as labour demand failed to keep up with the increased supply. Grantham says this explains more than half of the excess unemployment among 15 to 24 year-olds, but not all.

With population growth’s sharp decline recently, especially among students, it can’t explain this year’s spikes in youth unemployment.

Early data suggests artificial intelligence is playing a role, he said. While studies suggest youth will in the long-run benefit most from AI, people under 25 are more likely to work in areas at the most risk of AI disruption right now.

The theory that other factors are contributing to the weakness is supported by a rise in youth unemployment in other countries, even those where the labour market has been more resilient. In the United States, the jobless rate for youth has climbed almost 2 percentage points, far exceeding the 0.5 per cent increase for older workers.

The plight of today’s youth is the focus of another study that concludes that people under 25 are the unhappiest age group in 167 United Nations countries, including Canada.

For years the path of happiness has been considered U-shaped, starting with a high in the carefree days of youth, declining in middle age and then rising again in retirement.

The study by economists David G. Blanchflower and Alex Bryson turns this on its head and concludes that the midlife crisis has been replaced by a rise in despair among the young.

“This disappearance of a mid-life crisis has been driven by the decline in the mental health of the young, and is particularly evident for young people ages 12-25, and especially young women,” they said.

Theirs is the first paper to show that this is primarily due to a change in the mental health of young workers.

The rise of “gig work,” the demise of unions, hybrid and remote work, along with closer technological monitoring by employers have all created greater uncertainty and insecurity among young people entering the workforce.

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Canadians got their first view of the full impact of U.S. tariffs on the economy — and it wasn’t good.

Gross domestic product suffered its sharpest contraction since the pandemic in the second quarter, driven by a “significant” drop in exports.

Tariff uncertainty also cooled businesses’ investment in machinery and equipment, which plummeted by 33 per cent, the fourth sharpest decline in history, said economists with National Bank of Canada.

Statistics Canada revised its advance GDP for June down to -0.1 per cent, and estimates just 0.1 per cent growth in July, suggesting that economic weakness will continue into the third quarter, they said.

“This economy seems in dire need of a trade agreement to give businesses greater visibility,” said National. “In the meantime, the Bank of Canada can provide a little extra help while waiting for the federal government’s budget plans.”

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Fraudulent investment ads featuring deepfakes of celebrities and politicians from Mark Carney to Wayne Gretzky have been inundating social media feeds and duping people with the promise of massive returns. As Canadians spend more of their time and money in the digital sphere, online scams are growing and swindling them out of millions of dollars. The Financial Post breaks down the numbers behind investment fraud, who is most vulnerable, red flags to look out for and what you should do once you have identified that your financial safety has been compromised.

Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@postmedia.com with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we’ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we’ll keep your name out of it, of course).

McLister on mortgages

Find out more Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister’s

Financial Post column can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won’t want to miss. Plus check his

Financial Post on YouTube

mortgage rate page for Canada’s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily. Visit the Financial Post’s YouTube channel for interviews with Canada’s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more.

Today’s Posthaste was written by Pamela Heaven with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

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