Young women will be delighted with the observation, while men will wonder about the relevance of university studies.
I’m talking about the study of the Institut du Québec (IDQ) published this Wednesday. According to his authors, young men are today almost twice as many times that women are unemployed after university.
“The unemployment rate among young university graduates jumped spectacularly in Quebec. This increase in disproportionately affects young graduates, “write Emna Braham and Souleima El Achkar, CEO and main economist respectively.
More specifically, during the first seven months of 2025, the unemployment rate of young university graduates of Quebec (baccalaureate and more) reached 11.4 % among men, against 6.6 % among women.
In comparison, this rate was within 4.5 % for the two groups in 2022, according to statistical Canada data used by the IDQ, which relate to people from 22 to 26 years old.
The turnaround is stunning. Worse: the unemployment rate of young people’s university graduates is today higher than that of all young men with or without a university diploma (9.9 %), according to the IDQ.
What’s going on? First, it must be understood that young people are more harshly struck by the slowdown in the economy. Graduates or not, young people unemployed are more numerous this year, and it is understandable: employers first maintain the positions of their old employees before hiring young people.
That said, if young women are less affected, it is that the jobs created by the economy have been more in sectors with a predominantly female, in particular health and teaching. Some 123,000 jobs have been added to these two sectors since 2022, or 44 % of the total jobs created.
These two sectors hire university graduates in a proportion of 35 % and 65 % respectively.
Conversely, the sectors where men are more present, such as construction, manufacturing and transport, have created fewer jobs since 2022 (21,000 jobs). These sectors also have fewer university graduates in their ranks (11 % in construction for example)1.
Is the tendency promoting young university graduate women intended to last? Yes and no.
In short or in the medium term, the authors note, the budgetary restrictions of the Quebec government to eliminate the deficit may slow down growth in health and education.
In the long term, however, the health and social assistance sector will continue to have major labor needs. Not only will the aging of the population increase the needs of service, but the aging employees of this sector will leave the labor market, opening the door to young people.
“The health and social assistance sector is the one with the greatest number of positions to be filled in Quebec,” recalls the study.
In return, male employees could benefit from the modernization of infrastructure, the construction of new housing and projects in the energy sector, although the workforce that will be required does not often require university degrees.
That said, an important factor weighs in the balance: women aged 22 to 26 who have a university degree earn 35 % more than those who have only secondary diploma.
This factor has an incentive effect in women in pursuit of university studies, more than in men whose gain is only 25 %.
The difference in gain between women and men (35 % against 25 %) is explained by the lower wages of women who have a secondary diploma than that of men in the same situation (construction is paying for men, among others)2.
Despite everything, men who have a university degree continue to earn more than women. The wage gap men-female from all university graduates (young or old) was 9 % in 2024 (it was 17 % in 2006).
This gap is manifest as soon as it leaves the university and increased over time to reach an average of 9 % in 2024 for the entire population. The field of studies or having children or not in question, but they are not enough to explain the entire gap, according to the authors.
Be that as it may, the greatest ease of women in school since childhood and the salary gain provided by a university diploma have turned the portrait of the labor market. Today, women aged 25-54 are 26 % more numerous than men to have a university diploma (baccalaureate or more), while it was the opposite 35 years ago (-25 %).
This is a change. “Few less and less young men could see the interest of going to university,” believe the authors.
Does this mean that men should sulk the university? Absolutely not, in my opinion.
Not only does the university degree give access to stimulating jobs, but the salary advantage of young graduates graduates on non-graduates-25 % in the first years-gradually climbs to 62 % in mid-carrier (45-49 years).
“The diploma continues to open doors, especially in the long term, and facilitate the advancement of careers,” write the authors.
So, the guys, do we roll up our sleeves?
1. Note that the genius and IT sectors, with a male predominance, were not specifically analyzed by the two researchers. These generally promoting and prized sectors of young university graduates are in the large category of professional services, which brings together other professions. This category of professional services has created 12,000 jobs since 2022.
2. That said, the salary advantage of university grades has decreased in recent years, but more among men than in women. The decline for both sexes is explained by the shortage of labor which forced employers to concede better wages than before to less qualified employees.
