London youth face some of the highest unemployment in Canada, but they aren't giving up

London youth face some of the highest unemployment in Canada, but they aren't giving up

Some London youth have sent out dozens of resumes, with few responses from employers

How London youth are pushing through a tough job market

John Alimasi, 16, has spent the last five months searching for work, handing out resumes for summer jobs at restaurants and shopping malls. But, he has yet to hear back from an employer.

“I kind of feel bad,” said Alimasi, sitting in the London Public Library with his sisters. "At the same time, I know that it’s hard to find a job in Canada.”

Alimasi said he’ll take any work he can get in order to support himself, his two younger sisters and his mother.

According to recent Statistics Canada labour force data, London has the third highest youth unemployment rate out of the major metropolitan areas surveyed across the country.

The jobless rate for people aged 15 to 24 in the city was 22.2 per cent in May, compared to 15 per cent in January. The latest data for May 2026 shows Ontario’s overall unemployment rate is 7 per cent and the Canadian average is 6.6 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Alimasi and his family moved to London from South Africa around a year ago. Although the high school student would like to buy an Xbox and a new phone with the money he makes, his mother also has yet to find a job in the city, so his main goal is to support his family.

“I’m the oldest from the entire family,” said Alimasi. “It’s my responsibility as the oldest to look for a job in order to help my family out.”

Youth sent out hundreds of resumes

Youth Opportunities Unlimited has seen a record number of young people coming through its doors asking for job support, said Tyler Paget, the organization’s employment services manager.

The organization provides people ages 15 to 30 with education and employment support.

“A lot of what we’re hearing are things like, ‘I’ve tried applying 100, 200, 500 times and I’m not even getting an interview,” said Paget.

Recently when Paget posted a job for youth at YOU it received around 100 to 150 applications, and in previous years, he would consider 50 applications to be a lot for one job posting. He said the organization typically only interviews three people for each job.

“It’s really become a big difference for us now having to go through that many applications,” he said.

Agnes Ronan, 26, is a student at Fanshawe College who lives with her parents to help make ends meet. When the school semester ended, she said she applied for jobs online, but eventually got discouraged.

“I was really depressed and struggling with mental health and just having a hard time motivating myself to do the job hunting,” said Ronan, who recently landed a minimum wage job as a peer mentor at Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

“When you have no money and no job, you feel awful, you feel tired every day.”

Paget said there's still action youth can take to stand out to employers.

He suggests young people try meeting with hiring managers in person to find out what they are looking for in a job applicant. Youth should share their skills in a face-to-face conversation with the employer and tailor their resume and cover letter to match the job description.

Youth should reach out to people they already know in their networks about potential job opportunities. Making in-person connections in the community is also a good idea.

When it comes to crafting a resume or cover letter, Paget said a lot of young people are starting to rely on AI, and they should always read over and edit their resumes to ensure accuracy.

“As well, just really making sure that your resume is free of errors, like formatting errors, wrong dates, those sorts of things,” said Paget.

He said employers shouldn’t write off applicants who don’t match the exact job criteria or education requirements for an entry-level job, and be sure to take into account someone’s practical experiences, goals and passions.

“The longer that young people go without that first job experience, the less confident they’re going to be and it just becomes further and further away for them as a goal,” he said.

“It’s going to take a whole community."

Jessica Singer is a CBC reporter and radio producer based in Ontario. She previously worked for the CBC in St. John's, N.L. You can reach her at jessica.singer@cbc.ca