OTTAWA--The unemployment rate for students 18-24 rose by nearly five percent this month, to the highest level in nearly a decade.

According to a report released by Statistics Canada today, the number of students aged 20 to 24 with summer employment fell by 43,000 this month. Despite increasing unemployment, funding for the Canada Summer Jobs Program remains at the same level as in 2006.

"While Canada's economy has fallen into a recession, the federal government has sat idly by," said Katherine Giroux-Bougard, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "With students facing record high tuition fees, summer employment is essential for many students to be able to return to class this fall."

Tuition fees and student debt are at record levels. Earlier this year student loan debt owed to the federal government surpassed $13 billion for the first time in Canadian history. The Canada Summer Jobs Program is a federal government program that funds not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers, and small businesses to hire students for summer jobs.

"With no increases in funding for the Canada Summer Jobs Program and no commitment to reduce tuition fees or increase funding for grants, students are wondering why they have been left out of the government's stimulus plans," said Giroux-Bougard.

Founded in 1981, the Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organisation, uniting more that one-half million students from ten provinces.