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In November, 506,320 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, up 15,300 or 3.1% from October, after seasonal adjustment.
The number of Canadians receiving regular EI benefits rose by 48,700 between November 2007 and November 2008, a 12.3% increase. The number of men receiving benefits increased 17.1%, and the number of women, 6.1%.
The number of regular EI beneficiaries increased in all jurisdictions compared with a year earlier. Ontario (+28.2%), British Columbia (+24.6%), Nunavut (+21.9%) and Yukon (+21.3%) posted the largest year-over-year increases in regular EI beneficiaries.
The number of EI regular beneficiaries increased in most census metropolitan areas in the past year, with the largest year-over-year advances occurring in Oshawa (+99.1%), Windsor (+57.9%) and London (+46.5%).
Note: Employment Insurance Statistics Program data are produced from an administrative data source and may, from time to time, be affected by changes to the Employment Insurance Act or administrative procedures. The number of beneficiaries is a measure of all persons who received Employment Insurance benefits from the 9th to the 15th of November. This coincides with the reference week of the Labour Force Survey for the month of November. The regular benefit payments figure measures the total of all monies paid to individuals during the month. Month-over-month comparisons are made based on seasonally adjusted data, which removes the effects of seasonal variations.
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 on Employment Insurance for December will be released on February 24.
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 Gilles Groleau (613-951-4091), Labour Statistics Division.
Table 1
| November 2007 | October 2008 | November 2008 | October to November 2008 | November 2007 to November 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| % change | |||||
| Regular beneficiaries | 453.5 | 491.0r | 506.3p | 3.1 | 11.7 |
| Initial and renewal claims received (thousands) | 211.0 | 237.3r | 259.5p | 9.4 | 23.0 |
| Unadjusted | |||||
| All beneficiaries (thousands)1 | 656.6 | 635.7p | 714.6p | ||
| Regular beneficiaries (thousands) | 394.6 | 374.9p | 443.3p | 12.3 | |
| Men (thousands) | 224.6 | 214.0p | 262.9p | 17.1 | |
| Women (thousands) | 170.0 | 161.0p | 180.3p | 6.1 | |
| Initial and renewal claims received (thousands) | 247.5 | 246.0 | 304.9 | ||
| Payments ($ millions) | 1,054.2 | 1,033.1 | 1,294.2 | ||
| Year-to-date (January to November) | |||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2007 to 2008 | |||
| % change | |||||
| Claims received (thousands) | 2,332.0 | 2,427.3 | 4.1 | ||
| Payments ($ millions) | 13,257.7 | 13,707.0 | 3.4 | ||
Table 2
| November 2008p | October to November 2008 | November 2007 to November 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||
| % change | |||
| Canada | 506,320 | 3.1 | 11.7 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 36,450 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 8,030 | 1.5 | 2.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 28,030 | 1.8 | 3.1 |
| New Brunswick | 29,940 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Quebec | 161,120 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| Ontario | 157,910 | 4.5 | 28.2 |
| Manitoba | 10,770 | 1.3 | 15.8 |
| Saskatchewan | 8,420 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Alberta | 18,570 | 7.3 | 19.0 |
| British Columbia | 46,120 | 4.0 | 24.6 |
| Yukon | 910 | 4.6 | 21.3 |
| Northwest Territories | 660 | 3.1 | 8.2 |
| Nunavut | 390 | 8.3 | 21.9 |
