Job market can accommodate Boomers working longer and youths starting out

According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 13.7 per cent in 2013, down from 15.2 per cent in 2009.

TORONTO – Baby boomers are often criticized for many of today’s economic woes, from creating the national debt to driving up tuition costs. But studies are discounting one of the biggest complaints _ that boomers lingering in their jobs are holding up the employment of the next generation.

“(Boomers) do take up a large part of the workforce, but there’s absolutely no evidence that they’re crowding out jobs that otherwise would be filled by young people,” said Tammy Schirle, an economics professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

“The unemployment rates of youth right now look about normal. A lot of what we hear from young people today is really just based on their expectation, as opposed to this being some unusual period that might relate to what’s going on with another group of workers.”

Source: http://www.calgaryherald.com/