EI beneficiaries drop to pre-COVID level for first time in more than 2 years

In October, 438,000 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, down by 15,000 (-3.2 per cent) from September, says a report released Thursday by Statistics Canada.

This was the first month in which the number of regular EI beneficiaries was below the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of February 2020 (-2.2 per cent; -10,000), outside of the period (March to September) when the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program was in place. On a year-over-year basis, the number of people collecting regular EI benefits fell by 42.4 per cent (-322,000) compared with October 2021, added the federal agency.

“The number of people receiving regular EI benefits fell in every province in October, following similar widespread declines across the country in September. For a second consecutive month, the largest proportional decrease occurred in New Brunswick, with the number of beneficiaries down 9.1 per cent (-2,500) in October. British Columbia (-1.4 per cent; -600) and Saskatchewan (-1.7 per cent; -300) posted the smallest declines,” said StatsCan.

“On a regional basis, the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Abbotsford–Mission (-16.3 per cent; -300) and London (-13.8 per cent; -800), as well as small population centres and rural areas in New Brunswick (-12.8 per cent; -2,200) posted the largest proportional decreases in regular EI beneficiaries in October.

“For a third consecutive month, fewer men and women in all age groups collected regular EI benefits in October. The largest proportional decrease in regular EI beneficiaries in October was among women aged 55 years and older (-10.6 per cent; -5,200) who accounted for 35.6 per cent of the total monthly decrease. The smallest proportional decline in regular EI beneficiaries was among men aged 25 to 54 years (-1.2 per cent; -2,100), who accounted for 14.3 per cent of the monthly decrease. In comparison, core-aged men (25 to 54 years) accounted for 37.7 per cent of all regular EI recipients in the month.”

(Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald, covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He works as well as a freelance writer for several national publications and as a consultant in communications and media relations/training. Mario was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)