The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits was little changed in October (+0.7%; +2,900) and stood at 443,000. Considering this little variation, little change was observed over the last three months, after three consecutive monthly increases that ended in July. On a year-over-year basis, the number of regular EI beneficiaries increased by 6,500 (+1.5%) in October, reported Statistics Canada on Wednesday.
Data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.7% in October, marking the fourth monthly increase in the last six months, added the federal agency.
In October, the number of regular EI beneficiaries increased in British Columbia (+2.7%; +1,300), Ontario (+2.1%; +2,600), Prince Edward Island (+2.1%; +100) and Manitoba (+1.7%; +300) and decreased in Nova Scotia (-1.4%; -300) and Saskatchewan (-1.4%; -200). There was little change in the other provinces, said StatsCan
“Following increases in July and August, the number of women aged 55 years and older receiving regular EI benefits fell (-2.7%; -1,100) in October, the second consecutive monthly decline. Compared with October 2022, the number of women aged 55 years and older receiving regular EI benefits fell by 5,800 (-12.4%),” said the report.
“In contrast, the number of men aged 25 to 54 years receiving regular EI benefits increased in five of the last six months and was up by 3,200 (+1.8%) in October. On a year-over-year basis, the number of core-aged men receiving regular EI benefits rose by 13,000 (+8.0%).
“There was little change in the number of EI recipients in the other major demographic groups in October.”
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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