The number of Canadians receiving Employment Insurance increased again in August by 1.5%, with an additional 7,400 people accessing the benefit and marking the third increase in recipients in four consecutive months.
According to Statistics Canada’s latest report on Employment Insurance, prior to this consistent increase, the numbers of Canadians receiving EI had held relatively steady from September 2023 to April 2024.
The number of EI beneficiaries has increased by 26,000 on a year-over-year basis, up 5.6% in August.
Additionally, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey revealed that “in the four months to August, the unemployment rate increased 0.5 percentage points to 6.6%, as more people searched for work, while overall employment was little changed.”
“Compared with August 2023, the unemployment rate was up 1.1 percentage points and the number of unemployed people who had been laid off increased to 728,000 (+14.8%; +94,000) (not seasonally adjusted),” reads the survey.
That number of regular EI beneficiaries rose for men in all age groups in August, led by the cohort of core-aged men between 25 to 54.
“Compared to August 2023, the number of regular EI beneficiaries was up for all major demographic groups. The largest increases were recorded among men aged 55 and older, core-aged men as well as young men aged 15 to 24 years,” reads the report.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievere’s office released a statement in response to the data, laying the blame with the Liberal government, claiming their coalition with the NDP has “created economic misery for Canadians.”
“This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase and an increase of 26,000 people from the same time last year. As a result of this, Canada reached a 25-month high in the number of people claiming EI,” reads the statement.
Provincially, Quebec saw the largest increase in recipients at 5.4%, amounting to an additional 6,000 residents receiving the benefits.
Alberta saw the next largest increase, with an additional 1.9% of residents now on the dole, compared to this time last year.
Smaller increases were also recorded in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The other provinces remained relatively unchanged.
The Industry and manufacturing sectors saw a 21.7% jump in EI recipients compared to the same period last year, adding an additional 7,400 people.
The bulk of these jobs were lost in Ontario.
This news comes in addition to Canada’s GDP per capita being on track to decrease for the sixth consecutive quarter.
“This follows in the wake of September’s Labour Force Survey, which showed that year-over-year, employment had only increased by 313,000 while the working-age population surged by 1.2 million, leaving an enormous employment deficit,” reads the statement from Poilievre’s office.
“This NDP-Liberal Government is not worth the cost. Only Common Sense Conservatives will fix the budget and bring home powerful paycheques for all Canadians.”