The jobs paradox

Canada seems to have dodged a recession - so why is it so hard to find work right now?

- ANA PEREIRA

Despite having more than a decade of tech sales experience, Matthew Eatough recently found himself applying for entry-level jobs as he struggled to find work.

After a year’s long search and more than 400 applications, Matthew Bilopavlovic still doesn’t have a job.

Bilopavlovic, 24, graduated with a science degree and a minor in computing from the University of Waterloo last August. A month later, he moved to Toronto seeking a data analyst’s position. He spent “day in and day out on the couch” applying online, rarely venturing out to explore the city.

Working as a tutor helps pay the bills, including $1,500 a month for a shared Parkdale townhouse, but he says “I don’t know how much longer gig work can sustain me.”

Bilopavlovic is now running out of money and fears he’ll soon have to move back with his parents in Hamilton.

The Canadian economy might have dodged a recession, but for job seekers like Bilopavlovic, it sure doesn’t feel that way.

The country’s unemployment rate, while rising, is still below historical averages, and wages are climbing. And yet, something weird is happening with the labour market. It seems to have split in two: an affluent group of haves and a smaller group of have-nots.

Canadians who already have good jobs are feeling relatively secure, as we’ve had an unusually low number of layoffs lately. The national layoff rate averaged 0.8 per cent through the first three months of the year, or 17 per cent below its usual first-quarter level between 2017 and 2019.

Matthew Bilopavlovic, 24, graduated from the University of Waterloo with a general sciences degree in August 2023. He's applied to 400-plus jobs since.

But those trying to break into the market — recent grad, newcomers — and those who work in areas like tech where many jobs have vanished, are all struggling.