Alberta sees drop in EI beneficiaries
Posted Dec 18, 2018 1:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The latest numbers from Statistics Canada are showing a drop in employment insurance (EI) beneficiaries for Albertans over the span of one year.
According to the data, just over 47,000 Albertans claimed EI in October, which is down one per cent but compare that to the same time in 2017, the figures have dropped 24 per cent.
Labour Market Analyst with Statistics Canada Bertrand Leveille breaks down the numbers further.
“About 47,000 people were receiving regular EI benefits in October of 2018. That is a decrease of about 15,000, compared with October of 2017, about 24 per cent.”
READ MORE: Alberta boosts job numbers in spite of doom and gloom forecasts
Leveille said that other province saw a drop including Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while Alberta’s numbers were unique.
“The increase in terms of the numbers of beneficiaries was quite quick in the year when people lost their job. I would say it usually takes a couple of years before we go back to a more stable level in terms of EI beneficiaries.”
Leveille did point out that a primary factor in the drop is that many have run out of EI benefits.
Despite the year over year drop, Leveille points out that the number of applications for EI claims has stayed relatively stable over the past year.
