About 569,000 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance benefits in December, up just 0.4% from November. Even though it is a small increase, the total number of people on EI remains much higher than a year ago.
Compared with December 2024, there were 81,000 more people collecting regular benefits, a rise of 16.7%. Joblessness peaked at 7.1% in late summer before easing to 6.8% in December.
In December, the biggest monthly increase was among 25 and 54 year old core-aged men. Since September, 10,000 more men have joined the EI rolls. Young men also saw a small increase, while women aged 55 and older saw a slight decline in December.
Over the past year, every major age and gender group recorded higher numbers of EI recipients. Core-aged women and older women each saw increases of more than 18%.
Regionally, Ontario and British Columbia were the only provinces with notable monthly increases in December. Ontario added 3,200 recipients. British Columbia added 700. Quebec, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island posted small declines. Still, on a year-over-year basis, all provinces have more people receiving EI, with the largest increases in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
The largest monthly rise was among people who last worked in trades, transport and equipment operation. They have now posted five straight monthly increases. There were also gains in natural and applied sciences and in arts and recreation. At the same time, fewer people from sales and service and from manufacturing and utilities collected EI in December, though their totals remain higher than a year ago.
It looks like the labour market is no longer weakening as quickly as it did earlier in 2025. However, with nearly 570,000 Canadians still relying on regular EI, conditions remain fragile.