While we’re always complaining about how hard it is to find a job in this city and that “there are only unpaid internships out there,” a recent study by the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Toronto as having the best economy for young people.
Well, kind of – only 35 cities were scored, excluding all of the European cities that usually dominate rankings of this nature, as well as all other Canadians cities.
The survey ranked cities based on 31 metrics, including economic growth rate, government policies supporting youth, and youth employment, education, and health. Toronto scored especially high for ease of opening a new business, government support for young workers, and quality of employment opportunities.
And yet, we’re also not really that stoked about working here. Young Torontonians are among the most pessimistic in the world when it comes to future employment, ranking 30th in youth optimism about the future. Youth unemployment, meanwhile, is more than double the city’s overall rate at 18 per cent.
So, how can this be?
“Ultimately, the cities that get it right for young people are going to be places that people want to live, businesses want to locate, and really will be seen as the cities of tomorrow that others aspire to be,” says Brandee McHale, president of the Citi Foundation.
Our status as the fourth-most livable city in the world seems to reflect that justification.
New York City placed runner-up in the survey, followed by Chicago in third. Meanwhile, Europe was heard to say, ‘Come at me, bro’.
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