Canadian employment woes persist: Survey

Most Canadians believe it’s harder for both younger and older workers to find a suitable job, according to Randstad’s latest Global Workmonitor survey.

Read: Educated youth struggle to find good jobs: CIBC

When asked to rate their agreement on the statement, “I believe it is hard for young people (aged 25 or younger) to find suitable job,” 86% of respondents agreed or agreed strongly. For the statement, “I believe it is hard for older people (aged 55 or older) to find a suitable job,” 89% of the respondents agree or strongly agree, with only 2% of respondents strongly disagreeing.

The same question asked in the United States saw less pessimism when it came to young people, with only 64% of respondents agreeing. For older workers agreement was 87%.

Respondents felt that both younger and older workers would be willing to accept work below their education levels, with 86% agreeing that younger workers would do so, and 77% for older workers. In the U.S. the figures are stronger, with 90% of respondents agreeing young people would accept such work, and 83% for older workers.

Read: 5 tips for young clients

While people believe it’s hard for both young and old people to find suitable jobs, they also think organizations should hire younger and older talent. Seventy-eight percent of Canadians think it’s good for their company to actively recruit young people, while 66% think it’s good to recruit older people. And there could be good news on the horizon for both age groups, as the last Statistics Canada Labour Force study for May 2013 indicated a rise in employment in both the under 25s and over 55s.

Read: Gen Y struggles to save

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The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.