In April, 384,000 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, little changed from 386,000 in March. Since November 2022, the number of regular EI beneficiaries has varied little, remaining at or near record lows (outside of the period when the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit was in place from March to September 2020), reports Statistics Canada.

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According to the Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0 per cent in April 2023, unchanged since December 2022.

“In April, the number of regular EI recipients decreased in five provinces. The largest proportional decline was in New Brunswick (-3.8 per cent; -1,000), continuing its downward trend that started in August 2022,” said the federal agency.

“The number of regular EI beneficiaries also fell in Nova Scotia (-3.4 per cent; -700), Manitoba (-3.0 per cent; -400), Ontario (-2.8 per cent; -3,200) and Alberta (-2.5 per cent; -1,000) in April 2023. In contrast, the number of regular EI recipients increased in Saskatchewan (+8.9 per cent; +1,100), Newfoundland and Labrador (+7.2 per cent; +2,100) and British Columbia (+1.3 per cent; +500). There was little change in the number of regular EI beneficiaries in Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

“The Windsor (-41.7 per cent; -3,200) census metropolitan area (CMA) posted the largest proportional decrease in regular EI recipients in April, mostly offsetting the increase of 4,200 recipients in February. Meanwhile, the largest proportional increases in April were in the Saskatoon (+20.2 per cent; +500) and St. John’s (+15.2 per cent; +500) CMAs.”

Statistics Canada said the number of men receiving regular EI benefits decreased by 3,000 (-1.3 per cent) in April, reflecting declines among men aged 25 to 54 years (-3.2 per cent; -4,600). This was the fourth consecutive monthly decrease in the number of men collecting regular EI benefits, continuing a downward trend that began in August 2022. At the same time, the number of men aged 55 years and older receiving regular EI benefits rose 1.7 per cent (+1,200) in April 2023, the first increase since July 2022.

“In April 2023, there was little change in the number of core-aged women or women aged 55 years and older receiving regular EI benefits. The largest increases in the number of women receiving regular EI benefits were in Saskatchewan (+28.7 per cent; +1,200) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+11.1 per cent; +1,400), but these were offset by declines in several other provinces,” it said.

“The number of young people aged 15 to 24 years receiving regular EI benefits rose 3.0 per cent (+1,000) in April, the first increase since May 2021. This increase was notable among both young women (+5.7 per cent; +600) and young men (+1.8 per cent; +400).”

Mario Toneguzzi

(Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)

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