The latest data from Statistics Canada reveals a 20.0% year-over-year increase in the number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits in February 2024. Despite this surge, the overall count of EI beneficiaries remained virtually unchanged from the previous month, standing at 471,000.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicates that the unemployment rate held steady at 5.8% for three out of the four months leading up to February 2024. This follows a period of rising unemployment from 5.1% in April 2023 to the current rate.
The data highlights significant changes among different age groups. The number of youth (aged 15 to 24) receiving regular EI benefits increased by 2.0% in February, marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise. This increase was more pronounced among young men (+1.4%) compared to young women (+3.5%). Over the past year, the number of EI recipients in this age bracket surged by 34.4% among young men and 24.3% among young women, reflecting an escalating unemployment rate of 12.0% for young men and 11.1% for young women.
Conversely, core-aged men (25 to 54 years) experienced a decline in EI beneficiaries by 1.8%, while core-aged women saw a modest increase of 1.6% in February 2024. On an annual basis, there was a 25.2% rise in EI beneficiaries among core-aged men and a 16.3% increase among core-aged women.
British Columbia witnessed a 2.9% decrease in regular EI beneficiaries in February, contrasting with Ontario’s 1.0% increase. British Columbia’s decline was most notable among core-aged men and older demographics. In contrast, Ontario’s EI recipients, particularly men aged 55 and older, continued to rise. Toronto saw the most significant increase in EI beneficiaries (+1.8%) among Ontario’s Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), while Hamilton experienced the most substantial decline (-11.3%).
The fluctuating numbers of EI beneficiaries provide a lens into the dynamic economic circumstances faced by Canadians. Factors contributing to these changes include people entering or re-entering the workforce, exhausting EI benefits, and various other reasons leading to the discontinuation of benefits.