The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits held steady (+0.1%; +500) at 552,000 in August, the second consecutive month of little change. This followed increases of 60,000 (+12.3%) over the first half of 2025.
Data from the Labour Force Survey indicate that the unemployment rate increased from 6.6% in January 2025 to 7.1% in August.
In general, variations in the number of EI beneficiaries receiving regular benefits can reflect changes in the circumstances of different groups of people, including new beneficiaries, individuals going back to work, those exhausting their regular benefits, and others who no longer receive benefits for various reasons.
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