Future of work
A curated resource of recent research on trends shaping Canada's labour market.
The Burning Glass Institute’s latest report, No Country for Young Grads, reveals an uncomfortable truth: a bachelor’s degree no longer guarantees professional employment like it once did.
In the United States, young graduates are experiencing rising unemployment and underemployment, even as the broader labour market remains relatively healthy. One year after graduation, more than half of Class of 2023 grads were working in roles that did not require a degree, and—in an inversion of long-standing labour market norms—layoffs among degree holders have surpassed those among workers with less education.
The report identifies four structural forces that are reshaping early-career prospects:
- First, artificial intelligence is taking over the entry-level tasks that once served as stepping stones for new graduates.
- Second, smaller staffing models adopted during the pandemic have persisted, with employers increasingly reluctant to hire junior talent.
- Third, AI is not merely replacing jobs—it is amplifying the productivity of experienced workers, reducing the need for on-the-job learning.
- Finally, the steady rise in the number of university graduates has saturated the market with available talent, intensifying competition for a shrinking pool of degree-relevant roles.
Together, these forces are changing the traditional graduate pathway from campus to entry-level job to upward mobility. Many young workers now find themselves stuck in roles that do not require their credentials and offer limited prospects for advancement. The report warns that without meaningful shifts in how early-career talent is integrated into the workforce, this bottleneck could become a permanent issue in the modern labour market.
Canada is not immune to these challenges. Signs are emerging that young graduates are experiencing similar difficulties entering the workforce. As in the United States, the traditional pathway from university to career in Canada is showing signs of strain, raising concerns about the long-term prospects for the country’s growing pool of educated young workers.