Networking is crucial for 2026 job hunters. Here’s how to tap into yours

Amid a challenging job market, networking is one of the best strategies to improve the odds of getting hired in 2026, according to experts.

The new year comes with many challenges for jobseekers amid the trade war and tariffs, but networking is one of the best strategies to improve the odds of getting hired in 2026, according to experts.

The unemployment rate in Canada currently sits at more than six per cent of the working population, which experts say indicates there will likely be an uphill climb for those who are recently unemployed, graduated or looking for that next career move.

“Across a variety of circumstances, jobseekers are facing challenges. We definitely took this hit from the start of the trade war in 2025, and hopefully we don’t see a similar shock this year,” says Brendan Bernard, senior economist with Indeed.

The trade war and tariffs impacted Canada’s economy in 2025 by increasing costs and slowing demand for some goods and services. Although there was no recession measured last year, the economy grew by less than it could have without those impacts.

In Budget 2025, the federal government said it expects the Canadian economy to show “weaker productivity and soft investment” heading into 2026.

Most recently, October 2025 showed a shrinking economy, with GDP down by 0.3 per cent.

That’s leaving many employers cautious — and that sentiment is extending to hiring as well.

“We’ve got a jump in the share of youth who never had a job, a rise in the share of people in their core working years, including the 25- to 54-year-olds who’ve been out of work over six months despite wanting a job, and the rate that people are changing jobs is much less than it was in 2022 and pre-pandemic years,” Bernard says.