Education Indicators in Canada, 2019 to 2021

Released: 2022-10-18

At the beginning of the pandemic, Canada saw larger increases in the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training compared with other OECD member countries

A new fact sheet released today shows that the increase in rates of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was greater in Canada and the United States compared with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

Across OECD member countries, the annual NEET rate for youth aged 18 to 24 years increased by 2 percentage points, from 14.4% in 2019 to 16.1% in 2020. In comparison, the NEET rate rose by 6 percentage points (from 13.4% in 2019 to 19.7% in 2020) in Canada and 5 percentage points (from 14.5% in 2019 to 19.2% in 2020) in the United States. Conversely, countries such as the United Kingdom, France and New Zealand saw much smaller changes to the youth NEET rate in 2020.

The larger increase in NEET rates observed in Canada at the beginning of the pandemic may be associated with stricter public health measures in Canada compared to other countries, as well as the concentration of Canadian youth in industries that were more affected by these measures, such as retail trade. The NEET rate for youth aged 18 to 24 years was more impacted by changes in the labour market than their participation in education.

By 2021, however, NEET rates returned closer to their pre-pandemic levels in most OECD countries, including Canada and the United States. In Canada, this result followed the easing of pandemic-related restrictions and broader economic recovery. Accordingly, youth employment grew in several service industries as public health restrictions were eased.

Chart 1 
Percentage point change in pre-pandemic versus pandemic annual rates of youth not in employment, education or training for youth aged 18 to 24 years, by selected country, 2019 to 2020 and 2019 to 2021

Youth aged 15 to 19 years in Quebec and Saskatchewan experienced the largest increase in the not in employment, education or training rate at the onset of the pandemic

Within Canada, the effects of the pandemic on NEET rates varied across the provinces and territories, as well as among age groups. For example, youth aged 15 to 19 years were affected by school closures and the transition to online learning that took place at the beginning of the pandemic. Increases in NEET rates from 2019 to 2020 for this age group were largest in Saskatchewan (up 6.0 percentage points to 12.0%), Quebec (up 5.3 percentage points to 10.3%), and British Columbia (up 5.3 percentage points to 10.7%).

These increases in NEET rates were primarily attributable to a decline in youth aged 15 to 19 years participating in education across Canada (-3.8 percentage points), likely due to disruptions to education delivery rather than youth dropping out of school. However, by 2021, these youth had generally returned to school, resulting in NEET rates that were similar to those observed before the pandemic.

Chart 2 
Rates of youth not in employment, education, or training before and during the COVID-19 pandemic for youth aged 15 to 19 years, by province or territory, 2019, 2020 and 2021

Immigrant youth faced persistent challenges and high not in employment, education or training rates that continued into 2021

The proportion of immigrant youth aged 15 to 19 years who were NEET also increased in 2021 (from 4.6% in 2019/2020 to 7.5% in 2020/2021), whereas for Canadian-born youth, it remained constant (6%). Throughout the pandemic, there have been other disproportionate effects that have been observed for immigrants, such as greater health risks and poorer perceived safety relative to Canadian-born individuals.

In some provinces, youth continued to experience unfavourable labour market conditions into the second year of the pandemic

While the NEET rate for youth aged 15 to 19 years largely reflects their participation in education, for older youth, the NEET rate also reflects changes in the labour market. The economic disruptions that occurred early in the pandemic persisted into 2021 in Alberta, as did the increase in the youth NEET rate for youth aged 20 to 24 years (3.8 percentage points higher in 2020 and 2021 relative to 2019) in the province.

Additionally, ongoing pandemic restrictions including lockdown measures that affected sectors where youth workers are overrepresented, such as accommodation, food services and retail trade are linked to the increase in NEET rates, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. One in five young Ontarians aged 25 to 29 years (20.7%) were NEET in 2021, compared with one in six (16.8%) in 2020 and one in seven (14.6%) in 2019. In Quebec, the NEET rate for youth aged 25 to 29 years increased from 12.0% in 2019 to 16.1% in 2021.

Products

The October 2022 issue of the publication Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program, October 2022 (Catalogue number81-582-X) and the publication Education Indicators in Canada: Handbook for the Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (Catalogue number81-582-G) are now available .

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).