December 14, 2009

By the numbers

Canadian employment insurance claims on the rise

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The number of people receiving regular employment insurance benefits in Canada increased in September, driven by claims in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Statistics Canada recently reported that the number of regular Employment Insurance (EI) beneficiaries in Canada rose by 54,300 or 7.1 per cent in September.

In September, it reached 818,000, up 63.5 per cent from October 2008, when employment hit its peak.

The number of regular EI beneficiaries in Alberta increased by 14,400 or 25 per cent in September, following two months of slight declines.

The number of beneficiaries in Alberta reached 71,900 in September, up 53,700 from the peak in October 2008.

In B.C., 11,300 more people were receiving benefits in September, following decreases in July and August.

Since the start of the labour market downturn last fall, the number of beneficiaries in the province has more than doubled to 99,400.

The largest cities in Alberta with the fastest year-over-year growth rates were Grande Prairie, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Edmonton.

In Calgary, the number of people receiving regular benefits increased sharply from 4,000 to 18,800, while the number of beneficiaries in Edmonton rose from 3,800 to 14,900.

These steep increases coincided with year-over-year employment losses for the province in manufacturing; natural resources; and retail and wholesale trade.

In B.C., 15 of the largest 25 cities had twice as many beneficiaries in September 2009 compared with September 2008.

The number of beneficiaries in Vancouver increased from 12,600 to 31,300, while in Victoria, the number rose from 1,600 to 3,700.

During this year-long period, employment losses in the province occurred in a number of industries, with the largest declines in construction; professional, scientific and technical services; manufacturing; and transportation and warehousing.

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