Employment Insurance Coverage Survey

The number of people who have received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits has declined significantly during the past four years.

An analysis of new data from the Employment Insurance Coverage Survey shows that this decline in beneficiaries has been due mainly to a drop in unemployment, rather than a change in the composition of the unemployed.

Data gathered during the reference week of the survey show that roughly 476,000 Canadians had received regular EI benefits in 2006. This was a 10.3% decline from 530,500 in 2002.

The regular benefits program is designed primarily for the unemployed: in 2006, 64.9% of regular EI benefits claimants were unemployed.

The survey also showed that between 2002 and 2006, the number of unemployed declined 15.0% to about 1,039,000. This is consistent with the drop in the unemployment rate over the period.

Consequently, the number of unemployed people who received regular EI benefits dropped significantly. In 2006, roughly 309,000 unemployed people received regular EI benefits during the reference week of the survey. This was a 20.2% decline from 387,000 in 2002.

The reduction in the number of Canadians who received regular EI benefits for this four-year period is therefore attributable in large part to the decline in unemployment.

The Employment Insurance program is an income replacement program to help Canadians face situations such as a job loss or work stoppage. Canadians receive mainly two types of benefits: regular benefits, which are for individuals who have lost their employment, and benefits for the birth or adoption of a child, which include maternity and parental benefits.

During the reference week, more than two-thirds (68.6%) of EI claimants received regular benefits, and nearly one-quarter (24.1%) received maternity or parental benefits.

Composition of unemployed remained relatively unchanged

The data showed that declines in the number of beneficiaries between 2002 and 2006 were not due to substantial changes in the composition of the unemployed.

First, there is always a certain proportion of unemployed who do not qualify for benefits. This group consists of two groups of people. The first are those who have not contributed to the program because they have not worked in the past 12 months or their employment is not insurable. This group includes self-employed workers.

The second are those who have contributed to the program, but who have left their employment for reasons that do not meet the eligibility criteria, such as workers who left their job voluntarily.

In 2006, 68.0% of the unemployed had contributed to EI in the past 12 months and 52.6% of the unemployed were potentially eligible to receive benefits (regular or other). The proportions of the eligible and ineligible unemployed remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2006.

In addition, not everyone who left their work for a reason that meets eligibility criteria is entitled to benefits. An unemployed person is also required to have accumulated a certain number of hours of paid employment to receive benefits. In 2006, 9.1% of unemployed individuals were otherwise potentially eligible, but had not accumulated enough hours of work to receive benefits.

A good measure of the EI program's protection is the ratio obtained by dividing the number of people who met the eligibility criteria, and had accumulated enough hours, by the number of all potentially eligible persons. In 2006, 82.7% of potentially eligible people had accumulated enough hours to receive benefits, a proportion which has hardly changed in four years.

Maternity and parental benefits

Individuals taking leave because of the birth or adoption of a child are another significant group targeted by the EI program.

The year 2006 was pivotal in this respect because the new Quebec Parental Insurance Plan gradually came into effect. This plan is separate from the EI program and individuals can only be covered by one plan at a time. Moreover, the two plans differ in terms of the individuals involved and the eligibility conditions.

For example, among the different types of leaves offered by the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, there is a leave that applies exclusively to fathers. The Quebec Parental Insurance Plan also covers self-employed workers.

The survey showed that there were nearly 365,000 mothers in 2006 with a child up to 12 months old. More than three-quarters of these mothers (76.5%) had insurable income, and 83.5% of them had received benefits in the form of maternity or parental benefits during their pregnancy or since the birth or adoption of their child.

These benefits were from either the EI program or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan. Nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of mothers had received benefits, a proportion which remained relatively stable from 2002 to 2006.

About 23% of all mothers with a child one year old or younger did not have insurable employment. More than half of them had not worked in the previous two years.

Situation different for fathers

The situation was different for fathers. Between 2005 and 2006, the proportion of fathers who had applied for, or were planning to apply for, benefits for the birth or adoption of their child rose from 15.0% to 20.0%. This increase mainly reflects the trend in Quebec.

In Quebec, the proportion rose from 27.8% in 2005 to 48.4% in 2006. This probably corresponds to the start of the Parental Insurance Plan, which includes leave that applies exclusively to fathers.

These findings are consistent with a study based on data from the 2006 General Social Survey. The study showed that the proportion of fathers who missed work for the birth or adoption of their child (without necessarily claiming EI benefits) was significantly higher. It rose from 67% in 2005 to 80% in 2006.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4428.

To order custom tabulations, for more information or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-461-9050; 613-951-3321; fax: 613-951-4527; ssd@statcan.gc.ca), Special Surveys Division.

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