What to know

Toronto job hunters across generations are struggling with long searches, hundreds of applications, and few, if any, responses, even for entry-level or minimum-wage roles.

Older workers face added barriers, with some fearing age discrimination and being pushed toward early retirement after decades in the workforce.

Students and early-career workers describe intense competition and anxiety, with thousands of applicants per job and widespread use of AI screening limiting human connection.

Experts say Toronto’s unemployment rate remains higher than the national average, driven by population growth and cautious hiring, though some companies are slowly beginning to hire again.

It’s been two years since Ed Wight last held a job. The 60-year-old Toronto resident spent 18 years at a proprietary hospitality software company, most recently as a Senior Support Manager, before his position was cut in layoffs in November 2023. Now, the job hunt continues.

“I’m looking at rebooting a career that I spent 30 years in,” Wight said in an interview with Now Toronto.

That reboot has come with endless job applications, nearly one every day for the past two years, and despite the hundreds of applications sent out, Wight has only gotten two interviews. 

It’s a reality that many Torontonians are currently facing as they scramble to get noticed in a competitive job market. Despite Wight’s many years of senior management experience, he says he’s applied to driving jobs, LCBO jobs, and even seasonal positions; anything to make an income. 

“I’m just looking for something that’s going to pay me 25 bucks an hour, and get me out of the apartment. I just want to work,” he said. “I’m not even really concerned about working in my industry anymore.” 

Wight says he’s received a lot of support from his wife, family, and friends during his job search, but still, the emotional and financial toll often leaves him feeling overwhelmed and uncertain. 

“Some days it’s just damn hard to get out of bed because you really don’t see a lot of hope… It’s difficult, it’s depressing, it’s saddening.” he said. 

Wight says he is now fully accepting that he may have to be forced into early retirement if he doesn’t secure a position soon. 

It’s a situation that he says is not often discussed enough for older job hunters such as himself, adding the focus is often on younger seekers. In fact, Wight revealed he fears his age may often play a factor into being looked over for positions.

“Nobody wants to hire somebody older than them because they either feel defensive or insecure that this person they’re hiring actually has more world experience and knowledge, not realizing the benefits that they can bring in,” he said. 

Students feeling the pressure

All across the city people of all ages have found themselves on job searches that are often lasting longer than they initially anticipated. Fourth year Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) student, Grace Bashall, has been searching since December.

“A lot of these jobs that I’m seeing [have] like thousands and thousands of applicants, even for entry level roles. So it just creates a lot of over-saturation, and it’s very competitive even to get a minimum wage job right now,” she said.

Bashall says she’s sent out close to 300 applications since her hunt began and hasn’t heard back from many places. As time goes on, the anxiety associated with job hunting gets worse, and adds that Artificial Intelligence (AI) screening can often make applicants feel hopeless.

“I’ve noticed this trend of employers using AI screening to look at your resume as well as doing these online AI screenings where you’re talking to a robot. So that, in a way, feels a little disheartening to not really get that human-to-human connection when you’re job hunting,” she said.

Wight says that AI screening has also made the job search difficult and frustrating. 

“There’s no numbers to call, there’s no email addresses, there’s no direct contacts. The system has basically failed for hiring individuals,” he said.

Manroop Aulakh, another fourth year TMU student, says she’s also spent months searching for a minimum wage job, and says she rarely hears back, adding even rejection notices are silent. 

“It’s basically me applying to jobs, and 99 per cent of the time I hear nothing back from anyone,” she said. “I’m just like waiting, and it’s kind of tedious.”

Toronto’s unemployment rate higher than national average, experts say

According to Statistics Canada, the country’s unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points in January to 6.5 per cent largely due to a decline in a number of people searching for work.

However, Toronto’s unemployment rate remains higher than the national average around eight per cent. 

Meena Dube specializes in technology recruiting with Canadian employment agency Robert Half, and says that Toronto is often seen as an opportunity for younger generations and early-career professionals, which is driving the numbers up.

“There’s just been a lot of younger generation coming into the city, and I think that’s one of the reasons why we do have a little bit of a higher unemployment rate right now,” Dube said in an interview with Now Toronto. 

In addition, she says several companies and organizations held off on hiring in 2025 due to the uncertain market, but that’s slowly starting to change. 

“They’re used to this now, and they’re like ‘this is the reality of our economy right now, and we’ve got to move things forward,’ and so they are starting to hire,” she said.