A new report says that unemployment rate for recent university graduates in the Maritime provinces has gone up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings released Thursday by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission say the percentage of unemployed graduates two years after completing their program was higher for the class of 2018 at 14 per cent.
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Previous surveys from the commission found that two years after graduation, the class of 2012 had an eight per cent unemployment rate, and for the class of 2014 it was nine per cent.
Commission CEO Catherine Stewart says the increase in unemployment for recent graduates can be tied to the pandemic’s effect on education, employment and the economy.
The report also says 55 per cent of recent graduates reported a change in their financial situation as a result of the pandemic.
Thirty per cent reported they used too much, or all, of their savings, while 12 per cent took on more debt in the midst of the pandemic.