Employment Insurance, November 2024
Released: 2025-01-23
In November, 482,000 (-0.9%; -4,200) Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, little changed from October and down from the recent 495,000 peak recorded in August (-13,000).
On a year-over-year basis, the number of regular EI beneficiaries was up by 15,000 (+3.2%) in November. Data from the Labour Force Survey indicate that compared with November 2023, the unemployment rate was up 1.0 percentage points and the number of unemployed people who had been laid off increased to 556,000 (+16.8%; +80,000) (not seasonally adjusted).
In general, variations in the number of EI beneficiaries can reflect changes in the circumstances of different groups, including those becoming beneficiaries, those going back to work, those exhausting their regular benefits, and those no longer receiving benefits for other reasons.
To be eligible for regular EI benefits, one must have contributed to the EI program, have a valid job separation (for example, were laid off or quit for just cause), and have accumulated enough insurable hours.
Chart 1
Number of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries little changed in November
The number of regular Employment Insurance recipients down for youth and core-aged men
In November, the number of EI recipients receiving regular benefits fell among youth aged 15 to 24 (-2.3%; -1,100), largely among young men, and fell slightly among core-aged (25 to 54 years) men (-1.0%; -2,000). It was little changed for the other major demographic groups.
Compared with a year earlier, more men and women aged 55 and older (+6.3%; +7,700), core-aged women (+4.2%; +4,600) and young men (+3.3%; +1,000) received regular EI benefits in November.
Fewer regular Employment Insurance recipients in six provinces in November, led by Quebec and Alberta
In November, the number of regular EI recipients decreased in Quebec (-3,500; -3.1%), Alberta (-1,200; -2.1%), Saskatchewan (-600; -4.3%), Manitoba (-400; -2.1%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-300; -1.1%) and Prince Edward Island (-200; -2.1%).
The decline in Quebec was especially among core-aged (-2,100; -3.1%) recipients. Despite the decrease in November, there were 2,200 (+2.1%) more recipients receiving regular EI benefits in the province compared with 12 months earlier.
In Alberta, the decline in November was mainly among men (-1,000; -2.9%). Compared with November 2023, the number of recipients in Alberta receiving regular EI benefits was up slightly (+700; +1.3%).
Ontario (+1.3%; +2,000) was the lone province with more recipients receiving regular EI benefits in November. On a year-over-year basis, the number of people receiving regular benefits in Ontario was up by 11.0% (+16,000), the largest increase among all provinces.
Chart 2
Fewer regular Employment Insurance recipients in several provinces in November, while Ontario posts an increase
The number of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries up in several major occupational groups
In November, the largest year-over-year increase in the number of regular EI recipients was recorded among those who last worked in business, finance and administration occupations (+4,400; +7.9%), followed by sales and service occupations (+3,700; +4.9%).
Over the same period, there were also increases in the number of regular EI recipients who last worked in manufacturing and utilities (+3,600; +10.1%), and in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (+3,400; +2.1%)—both mostly in Ontario. There were also notable increases in natural and applied sciences and related occupations (+3,200; +10.2%), and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (+1,200; +2.5%).
On the other hand, year-over-year declines were recorded in November among regular EI recipients who last worked in art, culture, recreation and sport (-3,500; -21.2%) and in natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations (-1,400; -4.5%).
Chart 3
Largest 12-month increase in November in regular Employment Insurance recipients among those who last worked in business, finance and administration occupations, while fewer last worked in art, culture, recreation and sport
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Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the following 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
Employment Insurance statistics are an example of how Statistics Canada supports reporting on global sustainable development goals. This release will be used to help measure the following goal:
Note to readers
Concepts and methodology
Employment Insurance (EI) statistics are produced from administrative data sources provided by Service Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. These statistics may, from time to time, be affected by changes to the Employment Insurance Act or administrative procedures.
EI statistics indicate the number of people who received EI benefits and should not be confused with Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, which provide estimates of the total number of unemployed people. There is always a certain proportion of unemployed people who do not qualify for benefits. Some unemployed people have not contributed to the program because they have not worked in the past 12 months or their employment was not insured. Other unemployed people have contributed to the program, but do not meet the eligibility criteria, such as workers who left their jobs voluntarily or those who did not accumulate enough hours of work to receive benefits.
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted, unless otherwise specified. To model the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, values for all series from March 2020 to December 2022 have been treated with a combination of level shifts and outliers to determine a seasonal pattern for seasonal adjustment. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
The number of regular EI beneficiaries for the current month and the previous month is subject to revision.
The number of beneficiaries is all people who received regular EI benefits from November 10 to 16, 2024. This period coincides with the reference week of the LFS.
A census metropolitan area (CMA) and a census agglomeration (CA) are formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000. A CA must have a population of at least 10,000. See Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021 for more information.
Next release
Data on EI for December 2024 will be released on February 20, 2025.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of Employment Insurance statistics is available in the Guide to Employment Insurance Statistics (73-506-G).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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