The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits (-1.1%; -6,200) edged down to 544,000 in September, the second consecutive month of slight declines. The number of beneficiaries had trended upwards earlier in 2025, increasing by 66,000 (+13.5%) from January to July.
Data from the Labour Force Survey indicate that the unemployment rate was 7.1% in September, unchanged from August, but up from 6.6% in January 2025.
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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