Title: Job Fair Draws Hundreds Amid Rising Unemployment

As unemployment rates rise, many job seekers are turning to grocery store positions. Casey McLaughlin, a former executive director of the Yukon Transportation Museum, recently joined hundreds at a job fair in Ottawa for openings at a new Food Basics grocery store. "I'm willing to go from being a boss to shelving vegetables because you have to pay the bills," she said. "It's really hard to find a job in Ottawa right now."

Nafisa Ijie, who has a master's degree and experience as a business analyst in Nigeria and England, also attended the fair. She noted the challenges of finding work in Canada without local experience. "It's been very difficult getting a job, especially when you don't have the Canadian work experience. So you just have to start off somewhere," Ijie said. She moved to Canada just over a year ago.

Statistics Canada reported that the unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent in August, the highest level since May 2016, excluding the pandemic years. Viet Vu, manager of economic research at a public policy think tank, explained that while Canadians are not necessarily losing jobs, employers are not creating many new ones. "A lot of companies are not firing; people are not laying off their workers," Vu said. "But because of the trade uncertainty, because of the slackening of the labor market, a lot of companies are hesitant to invest in expansion, in creating new positions."

The job fair at Food Basics was particularly appealing, even to those who may be overqualified. Young people are facing significant challenges in the job market. Statistics Canada indicates that student unemployment is at its highest level since 2009. Hasan Alhamid, 17, expressed frustration at the long line of job seekers. "Canada is not helping no one, bro. Like, you see the whole line right now? It's a whole big line," he said. Another student, Ryan Ismael, 20, shared his anxiety about the competition.

Vu noted that when employers stop expanding, entry-level positions are often the first to be cut, which disproportionately affects young people. Research shows that unemployment during a weak economy can have lasting negative effects on young people's earning potential, a phenomenon known as wage scarring. "We've faced much higher levels of youth unemployment before in the '80s and the '90s," Vu said. "But this is not yet the time to panic, because this is the economy functioning as it should during a weaker time."

Food Basics confirmed it received hundreds of applications for just 125 positions at its new store in Barrhaven. McLaughlin was not among those selected. "They phoned and they're like, 'No, you're just not what we're looking for,'" she said. "I'm like, 'Please, I'll just take the garbage out, I don't care. I need to pay bills.'" McLaughlin, who has been job hunting for five months and has twins to care for, is considering moving to Western Canada for better opportunities. "You kind of have to push your pride back," she said. "All that life experience you have and what you can bring to the table, you kind of have to put it to the side."

Vu added that a brief period of unemployment after losing a job is common. "We usually expect that people who lose a job or who switch jobs take anywhere from three to six months to find their next opportunity," he said. "Anything longer than that, and especially those unemployed for more than a year, we should be concerned about."

With September's labor statistics expected soon, Vu anticipates continued trends of elevated unemployment and lower hiring rates. "My guess is we're not going to see much difference from the trend line that we have been seeing, which is a much weaker level of economic activity, a slightly elevated level of unemployment, lower-than-expected hiring, and for layoffs to, at least for now, remain steady."