Federal summer jobs site set for 50% jump in users as postings stay steady
New data from the federal government shows demand for jobs is on the rise, with the number of users and views on the Canada Summer Jobs portal up roughly 50 per cent compared with last year.
At the same time, the number of jobs available on that portal has not kept pace with the rising number of potential applicants amid what some experts are calling a “brutal” summer job market.
Following a report from Global News on Thursday on the challenges facing young Canadian workers trying to find summer jobs, the Ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada sent a statement to Global News that includes data on the traffic on its Canada Summer Jobs portal.
According to the data, the portal has seen more than 340,000 visits so far this year, with nearly 200,000 Canadians registering as new users, which the ministry says is on track for a full-year increase in visits of 47 per cent and a 50 per cent jump in user registrations compared with 2024.
Despite the large spike in new website visitors and users, the number of jobs posted so far this year has not changed much, if at all, compared with previous years.
The report shows that so far in 2025, nearly 52,000 jobs were posted on the CSJ portal, compared with roughly 59,000 in total last year. This may indicate that there are far more potential applicants than there are jobs available for seasonal summer work.
At the same time, the report shows there are still more than 80,000 job vacancies, or unfilled positions.
This discrepancy between those looking for work and positions still available may raise eyebrows, and the reasons behind it may be complex.
“Economists will sort of always tell us … OK, these are the regions and the sectors where there’s higher vacancies, ergo, that’s where young people should go,” public policy expert Vass Bednar said.
“And what that discounts is this challenge, this real core challenge for young people in gaining that relevant work experience, right, they want to start their careers or continue their careers.
“And unless we are also going to be flexible as employers by saying, ‘Hey, I recognize that work you did as a bank teller, as a store clerk, at a restaurant as having value in this other sector that looks or feels somewhat distinct and different,’ then I think it’s, again, almost unfair to tell young people, ‘Take what you can get and work from there.'”
The ministry says the summer job occupation with the highest number of applications received so far is administrative assistant with more than 31,000 applications.
Construction trade helper was the second most popular with more than 19,000 applications, followed by food service supervisors at close to 12,000 and home support workers at nearly 11,000.
Other summer jobs that were popular among users registered for the CSJ program include food counter attendants, accounting technicians and bookkeepers, administrative officers, cooks and home child-care providers.
Employment and Social Development Canada also says in the statement that the CSJ program will provide 70,000 summer job opportunities this year for young people aged 15 to 30, with an emphasis on those who are underrepresented in the labour market.
In addition to the CSJ program aimed more at seasonal positions, the government of Canada says it offers an array of programming intended to support youth workers throughout the year. These programs include the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, Student Work Placement, Supports for Student Learning and Canada Service Corps.
In the 2024 budget, the government of Canada announced plans to allocate over $350 million specifically for the CSJ and YESS programs in 2025 and 2026.
“I’m hoping and thinking we might see more of a focus on supports for young people, more incentives for companies to employ young people either on a part-time, summer or initial basis,” Bednar says.
“Because frankly, we do need more places to take risks on and invest in the future of the labour force.”
globalnews
