OTTAWA - The unemployment rate for students aged 15-24 reached 16.4% in August, up 5.0 percentage points compared with the same month last year, according to a report released today by Statistics Canada. "The reality is more students will be in need of student financial assistance this fall," said Arati Sharma, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. "The government must recognize that changes to the student financial aid system are essential at this time."

Currently, when a student applies for financial assistance from the government, it is assumed they will contribute a portion of their summer employment income toward their education. This "pre-study income contribution" is then deducted from the total amount of loans a student receives. With such low student employment rates this year, and many more students having to settle for part-time as opposed to full time hours, there are a lot of students who will have either no pre-study income, or their earnings will have been drastically reduced.

"The problem is that all students are required to make this contribution whether they earned any money during the summer or not, and regardless of how much they earned," said Sharma. "One step that will ensure students have the necessary resources for the upcoming school year is to remove the required summer income contribution. This will put up to $2,500 back into a student's pocket."