Recent data points to improving youth employment trends in Niagara, but ongoing challenges related to skills, pathways, and workforce connection remain.
Niagara’s population is shifting, with more youth and young professionals choosing to live and work in the region. However, it’s not always clear how these population changes translate into local labour market attachment – something we’ll continue to explore in upcoming work.
Are young people connecting to work in Niagara, or simply entering the region?
Right now, we’re seeing that talent is available but connecting people to job opportunities isn’t always straightforward. At the same time employers continue to navigate hiring challenges in a rapidly changing labour market and economic landscape.
So, what are we seeing in youth employment trends?
In 2025, youth participation and employment rates were about 9.0 percentage points behind historical averages, highlighting lower engagement in the labour market. Youth unemployment was also elevated in the first half of the year and then dropped to historically average levels from June onward.
2026 is starting off on a different note. Youth participation and employment are tracking more closely with historical trends, while unemployment is lower[i]. Together, these trends suggest some improvement in youth labour market engagement.
While this shift is encouraging, it also raises important questions about how sustainable these improvements will be, how they can be supported and sustained over time, and what they may mean for employers’ future planning.
Linking Systems to Changing Skill Needs
For many youth, the transition from school to work isn’t always straightforward. Across Canada, education, employment, and training systems often operate in parallel[ii]. That’s not to say collaboration doesn’t happen, but systemic disconnects and coordination gaps can make it more difficult for people to move smoothly from training into employment[iii].
When connecting with employers and educators, we often hear that navigating the youth talent pipeline can be challenging for both sides.
One common challenge we hear about is the mismatch between job seeker skills and employer-required skills, and role expectations. This reflects a broader gap in how labour market information (LMI) is shared and used across systems [ii]. This isn’t just a local challenge. Skill shortages or mismatches are seen across Canada[iv]. In fact, this skills gap cost the Canadian economy an estimated $2.6 billion in 2024[v].
1. Entry-level jobs: These roles, which often attract youth, still come with experience expectations that may be challenging to meet.
Insights from our job board indicate that between January and March of this year, about 22% of jobs were TEER 4 and 20% were TEER 5[vi] [vii] (i.e., jobs that require a high school diploma or on-the-job training OR no formal education and short-term work demonstrations). These are most relevant for youth entering the workforce.
At the same time, the number of available jobs – at least those posted online – has been decreasing. Between January and March 2024, we saw 4,851 entry-level job postings. Over that same period in 2026 this dropped to 3,511, a decline of about 25%.
2. Quickly changing skill needs: We’ve also consistently heard about and seen measurable demand for workplace skills like customer service, communication, and organization [vii]. These foundational skills remain important across sectors.
There’s also increasing demand for digital and technical skills [iv][viii] [ix] (e.g., AI skills, Microsoft products, finance knowledge)[x]. Recent research shows a shift towards a skills-based labour market with roles requiring a mix of skills rather than one area of expertise [iii].
This adds another layer of complexity because skill shortages are not static. They change across sectors; shift over time; and respond to economic conditions, changes in technology, and industry needs.
Why Does This Matter?
This complexity makes it increasingly difficult for both employers and job seekers navigating these changes in real time.
As employers face ongoing workforce pressures, an aging population, and changing skill needs, younger workers will play an important role in filling jobs, building talent pipelines, and supporting long-term economic resilience. If youth are not able to connect to meaningful work, gain experience, and build a future in Niagara, the region risks losing talent and weakening its future labour force.
To address these challenges, we need a clearer understanding of current and emerging skill needs, better ways to build and demonstrate those skills, and stronger connections across the systems that shape training, hiring, and career pathways.
Building a strong workforce is not just about having talent available. It is about making sure people can see a path, access opportunities, and connect their skills to meaningful work. It is also about helping employers better understand where talent exists, what supports are needed, and how workforce systems can respond to change more effectively.
As Niagara continues to grow and evolve, the question is not only whether young people are here. It is whether the region is creating the conditions for them to build their futures here. How we support youth workforce connection now will help shape the strength, resilience, and inclusiveness of Niagara’s labour market for years to come.
This is one of the key issues we’re exploring with the Niagara Workforce Coalition. Through the Coalition, Workforce Collective convenes partners across sectors to better understand workforce issues, strengthen connections between systems, and support solutions that address local labour market challenges.
If you’re interested in joining the Niagara Workforce Coalition or connecting with our team to explore opportunities for collaboration or coordination, reach out to us at info@workforcecollective.ca.
[i] Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0458-01. Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality. Analysis conducted by Workforce Collective
[ii] Tobin, S. (2025) State of Skills: Working Collaboratively to Close Skills-Related LMI Gaps. Toronto: Future Skills Centre. https://fsc-ccf.ca/projects/lmi-gaps/
[iii] Richter, S., McDonough, L. (2025) State of Skills: Resilient by Design: The Skills Canadians Need Now and for the Future. Toronto: Future Skills Centre. https://fsc-ccf.ca/projects/sos-resilient-by-design/
[iv] Conference Board of Canada, The. Skills and Productivity: Which Skills Shortages Are Impacting Canadian Productivity? Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2024.
[v] Conference Board of Canada, The. From Shortages to Solutions: Tackling Canada’s Critical Gaps in Healthcare, Trades, and Tech. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2025.
[vi] The Government of Canada outlines TEER categories as TEER 0 (management), TEER 1 (require a university degree), TEER 2 (require a college diploma/apprenticeship training of 2+ years, or supervisory role), TEER 3 (require a college diploma, apprenticeship training less than 2 years, or 6 months on-the-job training), TEER 4 (require a high school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training), or TEER 5 (need short-term work demonstration, no formal education).
[vii] Workforce Collective job board aggregator, Jan-Mar 2026, TEER 4 & 5 occupations.
[viii] Fang, T., Cukier, W., Zhu, J. and Pracek, T. (2025). Project Insights Report: National Survey on Skill Demands and Employment Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Memorial University. Toronto: Future Skills Centre. https://fsc-ccf.ca/research/national-survey-sme/
[ix] Immigrant Employment Councils of Canada & Future Skills Centre (2025). Driving Insights Report: FutureWorks Canada Tour. IECC-Driving-Insights-Report-v250212.pdf
[x] Labour Market Information Council Canadian Job Trends Dasboard, Niagara, past 90 days.