A long lineup of hopeful young people seeking jobs at Toronto’s upcoming Canadian National Exhibition stretched several blocks north of the Dufferin Gates on Monday.
The job-seekers, resumes in hand, are competing for about 100 positions at the annual fair with vendors such as Booster Juice and Beaver Tails.
One teen thought being there two hours before the 10 a.m. opening would put her near the front of the line. She guessed wrong.
The most eager job-seekers were lined up at 6 a.m. Officials told some of the late arrivals to come back another day as they weren't likely to be processed before closing time.
The job fair ended Monday at 4 p.m. but resumes Tuesday. Service Canada is running the CNE vendor job fair until Aug. 18 (weekends excluded), with the fair starting on Aug. 19. The hiring is being conducted at service trailers just southwest of the Dufferin Gates. New openings are expected to become available throughout throughout the job fair.
"It's first come, first served, so the earlier they come, the better," said Catriona Davie, a youth services officer with Service Canada.
The CNE itself filled 400 jobs earlier in July -- and had more 11,000 applicants. "We were quite astonished" by the response, said CNE general manager Dave Besnard.
Statistics Canada shows that a higher unemployment rate among Ontario’s youth than the general population.
In July 2008, the unemployment rate for Ontarians aged 15 to 24 was 17.5 per cent. In July 2009, youth unemployment jumped to 24.1 per cent.
For July 2010 and this past July, the rate has been 19.4 per cent.
Ontario's overall unemployment rate in July was 7.5 per cent. The national rate was 7.2 per cent.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Michelle Dube
