Youth hiring still a challenge as summer job market stabilizes: report

HR professionals face continuing challenges in recruiting and developing young workers as Canada’s summer job market stabilizes in 2026 after three years of decline, according to a new report from Indeed.

In an analysis published May 20, 2026, Indeed senior economist Brendon Bernard reports that Canadian summer job postings on the platform were “up 4% from a year earlier” as of May 8, 2026. He writes that this marks “a break in trend after consecutive declines between 2022 and 2025,” but notes that postings in early May 2026 remain “down 37% from their 2022 peak.”

Bernard’s findings are based on Canadian job postings on Indeed that include “summer” or “été” in the job title, excluding postings that also contain “intern” or “internship”, which are tallied separately. The analysis reflects seven‑day trailing moving averages of job postings.

In April, the hiring period for Canada Summer Jobs 2026 officially opened.

Summer postings stabilize after steep decline

Summer job postings in 2026 are tracking closely with 2025 levels, indicating that seasonal hiring appetite has levelled off following a sharp drop from 2022 and 2023. A line graph in the report shows that summer postings peaked at much higher levels in those earlier years before falling markedly in 2025 and remaining at similar levels through early May 2026.

Bernard states that “summer job postings throughout 2026 have remained at similar levels to 2025 and, as of May 8, 2026, were up 4% from a year earlier.” He characterises this as a stabilization in demand, contrasting it with the consecutive annual declines from 2022 to 2025.

The report notes that in early May 2026, 0.98% of total Canadian job postings on Indeed included “summer” in their title, compared with 0.96% in 2023. Bernard writes that “like summer job postings, as of early May, total Canadian job postings on Indeed were also roughly flat year over year,” indicating that seasonal hiring is evolving in line with overall labour market conditions.

Shifts in seasonal roles

Summer camps remain the largest single source of summer job postings, but their share of seasonal activity has slipped compared with last year. Indeed finds that camp counsellors, leads and managers together comprised 13% of summer job postings as of early May 2026, down from 15% at the same time in 2025.

A two‑panel bar graph in the report shows that “camp counselor, lead, and manager related postings slipped as a share of seasonal activity” between May 2025 and May 2026. Over the same period, there were increases across a range of other occupations.

According to Bernard, there was “greater seasonal demand among a range of fields, including painters, warehouse workers, and administrative assistants.” He also reports growth in summer postings for youth and community care workers, stating that this “highlight[s] how delivering services for youth is a key part of the seasonal economy.”

Muted youth employment gains

The report links the pattern in summer job postings to muted gains in youth employment rates during recent years. Using Statistics Canada data, Bernard notes that in stronger labour markets such as 2018, 2019 and 2022, youth employment rates for Canadians aged 15 to 24 rose by “an average of 11 percentage points” between March and their July peak, on a non‑seasonally adjusted basis.

Since 2023, that March‑to‑July increase has narrowed to roughly 9.1 to 9.4 percentage points. Bernard describes this as “a net 16% drop in the rate of youth entering summer employment,” indicating that a smaller share of young people has been able to secure seasonal work.

“The youth job market has been in distress since 2023, particularly among teens,” and that the share of Canadians under 25 who are working “has been low year‑round recently,” says Bernard. 

He adds that with youth labour force participation jumping at the end of the school year, “the difficult labour market is felt most widely during the summer months.” 

He says that “many youth will find summer jobs this year, though they might not be of the same quality they’d find during stronger conditions,” while “a greater share than normal will find it tough to find work, meaning both missed paychecks and a chance for work experience that could help establish their early career trajectory.”

“Given the low starting point, the labour market is seeking a rebound, not just stability,” says Bernard.

Employers seem to be looking for young workers — but not where they can find them, according to a recent report, according to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

Young employment

Here's the picture of youth (15 to 24 years) employment, labour market participation, and unemployment in Canada over the past 12 months (May 2025 through April 2026), drawn from Statistics Canada's monthly Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0287-02; seasonally adjusted):