How to Stop the Gen Z Slowdown

About a decade ago, I spent several years in Africa working with youth employment programs. The challenges each country faced were unique, but one commonality stood out: a booming youth population who were struggling to find educational opportunities and stable jobs. I was surprised at the time to find that most African governments had come to define “youth” as anyone under 35, but it made sense when I learned about some of their cultural prerequisites for marriage. In order to become engaged in many African countries, a man needs a stable income to support his bride and any children that may follow. Without that stable job, marriage and the formal milestone of adulthood are out of reach. This social erosion has diminished prospects for young people.

Recently, the youth unemployment rate has been increasing in Canada too. Marriage isn’t necessarily the cultural marker of adulthood it once was in this country, but even so, young people are pairing up later, having children later and living with their parents longer. If they struggle to find jobs that will turn into a career, all of those trends will only continue. For Gen Zs in Canada, independence is no longer a given. 

Related: Why Gen Z Will Never Leave Home

In May, one in five students aged 15 to 24 couldn’t find a summer job. Apart from the pandemic, things haven’t been this bad since the 2008 recession. The duration of unemployment is also lengthening: Ontarians aged 25 to 29 now spend an average of five months jobless, an increase of more than 50 per cent since 2019. This is caused by the economic downturn, but exacerbated by AI: entry-level jobs in career-oriented fields are being displaced by automation. Just as twentysomethings should be launching into their lives, they’re stalled.

The average age of marriage in Canada is also going up, from 25 years old in 1968 to around 35 today. Of course, in some cases, cohabitation is replacing marriage as a rite of passage. But a lot of people are living with their parents longer. In 1981, the census showed that about 11 per cent of people aged 25 to 29 lived at home. In 2021, that figure is more than three times higher. 

Even if they do move in with a partner, young people often can’t afford to buy their own homes and raise families. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this year that the age of home buyers continues to rise: people over 35 accounted for 39 per cent of first-home-purchasers in 2025, up from 33 per cent in 2024 and 30 per cent in 2023.

Coming of age during an economic downturn can hinder a person’s growth for a long time, even after the economy has stabilized. For instance, people who graduated from a post-secondary institution during the recession in the 1990s earned nine per cent less than those who came before—and it took a whole decade for them to catch up. Then, like now, young people were forced to take jobs below their qualification level or judged unfairly for gaps in their resumé. We also see a lot of workers in the gig economy, which isn’t exactly a launchpad to a more stable career.

Related: The End of Homeownership

This is all taking a toll on Gen Zers’ self-esteem and sense of what they can achieve in their lives. In the absence of long-term goals like buying a home or raising a family, we see young people living a YOLO lifestyle, leaning into hyper-consumerism, spending all their money on beauty products or clothes—and not saving. It’s a kind of a resistance to find pleasure where they can, but it’s also due to an apathy rooted in hopelessness about their future    

Rather than just let this generation stall, Canada can put into place some interventions—and already is doing so. Mark Carney’s first budget included more than $1.5 billion toward helping young people get onto their feet—including funds for student employment and training. These policies are a step in the right direction; they’re only promised for two or three years, but hopefully they’ll continue longer. 

But we also need support for young people—something as simple as our Old Age Security program, which guarantees government income guarantee for people over 65. The OAS program was designed in a different era, when impoverished seniors were a pressing public policy issue. A version for young people would directly support them, guarantee training or a job and incentivize them to plan for a more stable future, instead of just living for today. Recently, the U.K. announced a Youth Jobs Guarantee—ensuring that many more young people who need assistance have access to training or employment. Germany has a famously effective apprenticeship system, and Saudi Arabia is investing significantly in redesigning its career support and guidance system. 

What would this look like for Canada? Beyond the obvious need for collaboration between all levels of government, Canada would need to overhaul its current patchwork system for a coordinated approach. Right now, every individual is navigating solo, seeking out opportunities, looking for programs, and receiving the assistance they can scrounge up. In a coordinated system, youth would have a simple, straightforward place to learn about their options, and they would have access to helpful guidance, and high-quality training and employment opportunities. All of this would be affordable and accessible, clear and comprehensive. It would include targeted support for the young people most at risk, and it would guarantee everyone a kickstart to their independence. 

My own daughter is nine years old. In another nine years, when she enters her post-secondary years, I hope that she’ll be able to tap into a support system that holistically supports her transition to adulthood, with affordable training after graduation, mental health supports, connections to work-integrated learning opportunities and perhaps even a guaranteed income like her grandparents currently enjoy.  Like many parents, I hope my child will one day be able to afford to spread her wings and fly to her own nest.

Tricia Williams is the director of research at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Future Skills Centre