Employment Insurance
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Related subjects
-
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits decreased by 18,100 (-3.0%) in May to 577,300. This was the eighth consecutive monthly decline.
There were fewer beneficiaries in most provinces, with the largest percentage declines in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.
Number of claims edges up in May
To receive EI benefits, individuals must first submit a claim. The number of claims provides an indication of the number of people who could become beneficiaries.
In May, 238,400 initial and renewal claims were received, up slightly (+1.3%) from the previous month. This follows a 4.6% advance in April. With these recent increases, the number of claims received returned to levels observed earlier this year.
Note to readers
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.
Each month, Statistics Canada provides analysis of the current labour market situation, using Employment Insurance (EI) statistics and other sources. Earlier this month, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) provided a picture of overall labour market conditions, including unemployment, total employment and characteristics of those affected by changes in the labour market.
In this release, Statistics Canada provides additional sub-provincial detail through the EI statistics. Details by industry will follow with data from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours.
EI statistics are produced from an administrative data source provided by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. These statistics may, from time to time, be affected by changes to the Employment Insurance Act or administrative procedures. The number of regular beneficiaries and the number of claims received for April and May are preliminary. In this release, large centres correspond to those with a population of 10,000 or more.
The number of beneficiaries is a measure of all persons who received EI benefits from May 15 to 21. This period coincides with the reference week of the LFS.
EI statistics indicate the number of people who received EI benefits, and should not be confused with data coming from the LFS, which provides information on the total number of unemployed people.
There is always a certain proportion of unemployed people who do not qualify for benefits. Some unemployed people have not contributed to the program because they have not worked in the past 12 months or their employment is not insured. Other unemployed people have contributed to the program but do not meet the eligibility criteria, such as workers who left their job voluntarily or those who did not accumulate enough hours of work to receive benefits.
The change in the number of regular EI beneficiaries reflects various situations, including people becoming beneficiaries, people going back to work, and people exhausting their regular benefits.
While the number of claims received in May rose slightly at the national level, it increased sharply in Saskatchewan (+23.9%) as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador (+21.7%). There were slower increases in Manitoba (+5.7%) and Quebec (+3.1%). At the same time, there were declines in other provinces, with the most notable percentage decreases in Prince Edward Island (-7.2%) and New Brunswick (-2.3%).
Chart description: Number of claims rises slightly in May
Fewer beneficiaries in most provinces, especially Alberta
There were fewer people receiving regular employment insurance benefits in May, with the fastest percentage decline occurring in Alberta. The number of beneficiaries in this province fell by 7.1% to 34,400, extending the downward trend that began in the fall of 2010.
In Ontario, the number of beneficiaries decreased by 3.3% in May to 175,200. This was the eighth consecutive monthly decline. The downward trend also continued in Quebec and Manitoba, as the number of beneficiaries in May decreased by 3.2% in both provinces.
While the downward trend also continued in Newfoundland and Labrador (-2.7%), British Columbia (-2.4%) and Saskatchewan (-2.2%), the percentage decline was slower in May.
Prince Edward Island was the only province with a notable percentage increase in the number of beneficiaries, up 3.5% in May. This follows an increase of 2.3% the previous month. There was little change in May in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Sub-provincial and demographic overview
Employment Insurance data by sub-provincial region, sex and age are not seasonally adjusted and are therefore compared on a year-over-year basis.
Most large centres show year-over-year declines
Between May 2010 and May 2011, the number of people receiving regular benefits at the national level fell by 109,000 (-16.9%). Declines occurred in 129 of the 143 large centres (see map). Large centres are those with a population of 10,000 or more.
The number of people receiving regular benefits fell in all five large centres of Newfoundland and Labrador, with the fastest pace of decline occurring in St. John's (-13.2%). This continues the trend of monthly year-over-year decreases that began in April 2010 for St. John's. In May, there was also a marked percentage decline in Grand Falls-Windsor.
There were fewer beneficiaries between May 2010 and May 2011 in 27 of the 33 large centres in Quebec, with the fastest decline occurring in Saint-Georges. Over the same period, the number of beneficiaries also decreased sharply in the census metropolitan area of Québec, falling by 26.9% to 7,200. At the same time, the percentage decline was slower in Montréal, down 18.2% to 51,900. Other large centres with notable percentage decreases in the number of beneficiaries were Granby, Magog, Sainte-Hyacinthe and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. This contrasts with Amos and Sept-Îles, the only two large centres in the province with notable year-over-year percentage increases. There was little or no change in all other large centres.
In Ontario, nearly all large centres posted year-over-year declines in the number of beneficiaries, with marked percentage decreases in Greater Sudbury, Tillsonburg, Thunder Bay, Elliot Lake, Belleville and Guelph. In Toronto, the number of beneficiaries fell by 22.2% to 64,900. This rate of decrease was slightly higher than the average pace of year-over-year declines observed over the previous 11 months.
In Manitoba, the number of people receiving regular benefits fell or was unchanged in all four large centres. The fastest rate of decline occurred in Winnipeg, down 29.8% to 5,200. This was the largest of nine consecutive monthly year-over-year percentage decreases for Winnipeg.
There were year-over-year declines in the number of beneficiaries for all eight large centres in Saskatchewan. The number of beneficiaries fell by 34.5% to 1,500 in Saskatoon and by 30.4% to 960 in Regina.
In Alberta, all 12 large centres had fewer beneficiaries in May compared with May 2010. The number of people receiving regular benefits in May totalled 10,100 in both Calgary and Edmonton, down 36.2% and 30.0% respectively from 12 months earlier. Other large centres with a year-over-year decline of 30% or more were Brooks, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat.
The number of people receiving regular benefits decreased in all large centres of British Columbia. The most notable percentage declines occurred in Fort St. John, Prince Rupert, Quesnel, and Kamloops. The number of beneficiaries fell by 25.6% to 26,100 in Vancouver, and by 15.9% to 3,100 in Victoria.
Demographic groups
In May, the number of men receiving regular employment insurance benefits fell 18.0% from 12 months earlier to 332,900. For women, the rate of decline over the same period was slightly slower (-15.1%), with 203,400 women receiving benefits. These decreases extend the year-over-year downward trend that began in March 2010 for men and June 2010 for women.
Among men, the fastest pace of decline occurred for those aged 25 to 54 (-20.1%) and youths under 25 (-19.1%). For men 55 and over, the decrease was about half as fast as that of their younger cohorts (-10.1%).
Among women, the number of beneficiaries decreased by 20.2% for youths under 25, and by 16.3% for women aged 25 to 54. The number of women aged 55 and over who received benefits fell 8.5%.
Available on CANSIM: tables 276-0001 to 276-0006, 276-0009, 276-0011, 276-0015 and 276-0016.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2604.
Data tables are also now available online. From the Key resource module of our website under Summary tables, choose Subject then Labour.
Data on Employment Insurance for June will be released on August 18.
A set of maps, Employment Insurance Statistics Maps, May 2011 (73-002-X, free), is now available online. The maps show percent changes in the number of people receiving regular EI benefits for all census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations in Canada. From the Key resource module of our website, under Publications, choose All subjects, then Labour.
For more information, or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-866-873-8788; 613-951-4090; labour@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Kevin Forneris (613-951-8235), Labour Statistics Division.
- Date modified: