The proportion of young Canadians not in employment, education or training (NEET) has reached unprecedented levels amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Statistics Canada data released today show that in April, the NEET rate among 15–29-year-olds reached 24% – double the February rate.
That’s the highest rate measured in the last 20 years, StatCan explained.
The primary cause was governments’ response to the spread of the new coronavirus.
In February, just before the virus was found to have spread from China to most of the world, the NEET rate in Canada was 12%.
By March, it had reached 18%.
The rates were comparable between men and women, StatCan explained, and similar across all provinces.
Older NEETs were hit by job losses, the agency said, while younger NEETs were affected by school closures.
StatCan explained: “Overall, during the early months of the pandemic, groups that are typically at higher risk for being NEET (young women with children, immigrants and off-reserve Indigenous youth) did not experience a greater increase in NEET rates compared with the overall population.
“As the education and labour market environments continue to evolve throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be important to monitor the NEET rates of young Canadians during the rest of 2020.”
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