{"id":33637,"date":"2025-07-30T23:57:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T23:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/33637\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T23:57:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T23:57:13","slug":"cne-starts-interviews-for-5k-jobs-after-receiving-54k-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/33637\/","title":{"rendered":"CNE starts interviews for 5K jobs after receiving 54K applications"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of young people lined up for interviews at the Canadian National Exhibition job fair on Wednesday amid a high level of youth unemployment in Ontario.<\/p>\n

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The CNE said it received more than 54,000 online job applications for more than 5,000 seasonal positions at the two-week fair, including cashiers, retail associates, game attendants, food service staff, midway operators and informational guides.<\/p>\n

Organizers said that was the highest number of job applications they\u2019ve ever received, calling it a reflection of a job market that\u2019s causing high rates of youth unemployment. CNE estimated that approximately 4,000 candidates turned up at the job fair.<\/p>\n

Applicants who started arriving just after 5 a.m. Wednesday were interviewed at 24 booths for food and games vendors. Many of them chatted and kept up positive energy despite long lines that curved and looped through the Enercare Centre at Toronto\u2019s Exhibition Place.<\/p>\n

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Pollos Pubert said he\u2019s among many young people who need a job before the end of the summer after unsuccessfully applying for other employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put in about 50 resumes in (job search platform) Indeed \u2026 got three replies back with a deny, others didn\u2019t even care to reply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I\u2019m applying for anything that pays, really. I\u2019ll take anything, but specifically I want cashier attendant, game attendant, just for experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musa Mehmood said he arrived at the job fair at 5:30 a.m. and stood in line for job interviews all morning.<\/p>\n

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\u201c(It\u2019s) really chaotic. There\u2019s a lot of people here and I\u2019m seeing new faces every moment and people are just building up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Sydney Prokopetz said she was hiring game operators and looking for young people who can do the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just looking for nice young kids who will be able to help run the games, help us out as a nice family business, run things, keep things organized, talk to kids, call people in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

CNE CEO Mark Holland said the large turnout was extraordinary. He acknowledged that finding a job has been difficult for a lot of young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all been there. We all know what it\u2019s like to try to get our first job. It\u2019s very competitive. It\u2019s hard,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a place where you can really pitch your skills and we\u2019re looking for people who are going to bring that sense of joy and fun to the fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 in Ontario was 15.8 per cent in June.<\/p>\n

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Statistics Canada said the national youth unemployment rate held steady at 14.2 per cent last month and \u201cremained significantly above\u201d its pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent, recorded from 2017 to 2019.<\/p>\n

One expert said the youth unemployment rate is higher this year compared to the same period last year but it\u2019s still lower than during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008 recession.<\/p>\n

Viet Vu, the manager of economic research at Toronto Metropolitan University\u2019s Dais think thank, said youth unemployment is up because the job market has cooled over the last several months, due to fewer businesses hiring and the disruptions in trade with the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of businesses feel like they can\u2019t really plan for the future. That also then reduces the amount of hiring,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s reflecting the fact that a lot of students and young people are being disappointed by the job market right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Vu said young people who are looking for their first job after graduation and students who are looking for summer jobs are hit especially hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actually only seeing that the number of jobs being posted is decreasing because the job market just isn\u2019t as tight as it was a year ago,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of that impact will unfortunately be absorbed by young people who are new entrances to the labour market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of these young folks who might have just graduated may not be able to find a job in their own field,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say you\u2019re a business student \u2014 ideally you would be applying and get jobs and internships at the big banks or investment firms and all of those things, and the fact that you can\u2019t get those jobs means that you have to search for any job that is available to make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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