Young unemployed Canadians should work for free, BoC Governor says

Young unemployed Canadians should consider unpaid work, Stephen Poloz, Governor of the Bank of Canada said. It is important that they bolster their resumes while they wait for the economic recovery to bring more work, he added.

Mr. Poloz said:

“Volunteer to do something which is at least somewhere related to your expertise so that it’s clear that you are gaining some learning experience during that period.”

According to the country’s central bank, about 200,000 young Canadians are either seeking employment or looking for more work, Mr. Poloz explained. Prolonged unemployment could scar them, making it harder to eventually make it on their own.

As part of his advice to discouraged youth, Poloz told reporters:

“Having something unpaid on your CV is very worth it, because that’s the one thing you can do to counteract this scarring effect.”

Mr. Poloz predicted that virtually everybody who was present at the press conference knew of at least one family whose adult offspring were living in the basement. “I’m pretty sure these kids have not taken early retirement,” he added.

Internships can help bolster young people’s resumes, Mr. Poloz believes.

Mr. Poloz says that getting unemployed young people who are seeking work into gainful employment is a barometer of the health of Canada’s economy. Whether things return to normal over the next two years can be gauged by how many currently unemployed Canadians find jobs.

According to official data, there is still considerable slack in the economy, despite unemployment reaching a six-year low. The current unemployment rate does not take into account the discouraged worker effects, Mr. Poloz said.

Volunteer work does not pay the bills

Many young Canadians reacted by saying Mr. Poloz is not in touch with the reality of what would-be workers have to face on a daily basis.

The Leader quoted James Tobin, who graduated from Bishop’s University and has been trying to find a teaching job for over two years. Mr. Tobin said “I don’t think it really works because you have to live, right? Not everyone is living at their parents’ house rent-free … so, how are they going to make ends meet?”