OTTAWA - Canada's youth jobless rate has soared under the economic pressures of the past year and even the lucrative summer months were a bust with young people's hours of work hitting 30-year lows, a report released Tuesday said.

Canada's Vital Signs 2009, the annual report card on quality of life from Community Foundations of Canada, said youth unemployment rose from 10.7 per cent in January 2008 to 16.3 per cent by this summer.

As of August 2009, employment among youths was falling faster than in any other age group, it said.

Among students looking for summer jobs, 19.2 per cent were unemployed this summer and for those who found work, the average number of work hours, 23.4 per week, was the lowest in more than 30 years.

"The report shows us how the impact of the recession has been immediate and severe for vulnerable groups, such as youth," said Monica Patten, president and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada, in a statement.

"It also shines a light on inequities that pre-date the recession, such as the disturbing high school completion rates among the aboriginal population."

The report said Aboriginal students are attending and completing high school at much lower rates than the non-Aboriginal population.

The Aboriginal high school completion rate was 56.3 per cent in 2006, compared to a rate of 76.9 per cent among the non-Aboriginal population.

On Tuesday, 16 local Vital Signs report cards were released by community foundations across Canada.