A record 54,000 people signed up for a summer job fair held in Toronto this July. (Nick Lachance\/Toronto Star via Getty Images) \u00b7 Nick Lachance via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Job postings in Canada\u2019s tech sector have retreated sharply since their early-2022 peak, a report from Indeed Canada says, with listings for junior roles now 25 per cent fewer than before the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Those jobs, which traditionally give new graduates a foothold in the industry, are vanishing just as young Canadians are facing their toughest job market in years.<\/p>\n
The Indeed report<\/a> and another<\/a> from CIBC Economics, both published this week, suggest these trends are colliding in ways that could reshape Canada\u2019s early career landscape. The CIBC report shows unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds has climbed to “levels typically seen only during recessionary periods” \u2014 a surge of more than 5.5 percentage points since mid-2022 \u2014 and adds that the trend in the youth employment-to-population ratio is \u201ceven more worrying.\u201d Indeed\u2019s report finds the tech sector has frozen out newcomers even as senior roles hold steady.<\/p>\n “It’s in the standard and junior-level jobs where the market is especially weak and it comes at a time when overall Canadian youth unemployment is quite elevated,\u201d said Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed. He points to a broader, economy-wide shift captured in Statistics Canada data<\/a> \u2014 in early 2023, about half of all job postings were open to candidates with a year or less of experience; by early 2025, that share had dropped to 41 per cent.<\/p>\n In his report, CIBC economist Andrew Grantham notes that while part of the weakness in youth employment can be explained by a population surge \u2014 with international students and non-permanent residents increasing competition for entry-level positions \u2014 supply pressures aren\u2019t the whole story.<\/p>\n \u201cOne possible reason is that the jobs typically undertaken by young people are also the ones most at risk from technological change, including AI,\u201d Grantham wrote. He points out that youth are faring worse in industries with heavy exposure to automation, such as business support services and professional occupations \u2014 a pattern not seen in less AI-sensitive sectors.<\/p>\n When manufacturing fell off in earlier decades, it was often younger workers who suddenly had their career prospects really hit. That is definitely a risk for people just entering the tech market now.Brendon Bernard, Indeed Canada<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That uneven impact is also showing up inside tech itself, the Indeed report notes. Senior and managerial positions remain above pre-pandemic levels, but postings for standard and junior titles have plunged, shutting out those at the start of their careers. Bernard notes that while roles tied directly to AI \u2014 such as machine learning engineers, data engineers and data centre technicians \u2014 still show elevated demand, they aren\u2019t accessible to most graduates.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n The timeline also matters. Although much of the plunge in postings pre-dated ChatGPT\u2019s release, the absence of a rebound has raised questions about AI\u2019s role. Bernard says the decisive signal will come if the broader job market recovers but tech does not.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we see job postings elsewhere in the economy start to improve and tech continues to languish\u2026 that\u2019s going to be a real red flag that there are other trends, with AI a likely factor, holding tech back even as the rest of the economy is strong.\u201d<\/p>\n For young workers, the risk is being stranded outside the industry altogether. The CIBC report details \u201csignificant struggles for 15 to 19-year-olds finding part-time work, as well as 20 to 24-year-olds securing full-time jobs\u201d. It notes that the latter group is increasingly taking on part-time work \u201cpotentially because not enough full-time positions are available.\u201d<\/p>\n Bernard draws a parallel with past industrial shifts. \u201cWhen manufacturing fell off in earlier decades, it was often younger workers who suddenly had their career prospects hit. That is definitely a risk for people just entering the tech market now.\u201d<\/p>\n Both reports warn that the challenges aren\u2019t unique to Canada. Indeed says tech postings have fallen more steeply in the U.S., U.K. and France, while CIBC notes youth unemployment in the U.S. has also risen faster than among older workers. The open question is whether this is a temporary correction after an extraordinary boom or the start of a permanent restructuring of entry-level work in the age of AI. Given that reality, Bernard expects the chill for newcomers to last.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are clearly many jobs in tech, especially in entry level, that are exposed to AI,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be surprising to see the job market remaining soft for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n John MacFarlane is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on X @jmacf<\/a>.<\/p>\n Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple<\/a> and Android<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n