Fewer Canadians are claiming employment insurance

The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits in June was 442,600, virtually unchanged from the previous month.

Year-over-year, there were 21,300 fewer EI beneficiaries, a 4.3% reduction.

Statistics Canada says that the month-over-month data shows an increase in EI beneficiaries in Quebec while there was a decrease in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

Year-over-year decreases occurred in all provinces, with the exception of New Brunswick and Manitoba, where the number was little changed. However, the decrease was almost entirely due to a drop in the fall of 2018.

The number of claims nationwide, which is an indicator of those who may become beneficiaries was down 1.4% to 227,300 in June. Year-over-year this figure fell 4.1% with decreases in all provinces with the exception of British Columbia, where claims increased 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

#DYK Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of EI beneficiaries in Canada was down 21,300 (-4.6%). This decrease was due almost entirely to declines observed in the fall of 2018.

— Statistics Canada August 22, 2019