The number of people receiving regular employment insurance benefits dropped in July for the first time in 11 months.
In July, 787,700 people received regular employment insurance benefits, down by 31,500, or 3.8 percent, Statistics Canada said Monday.
There were 274,700 initial and renewal claims received in July, down by 25,500, or 8.5 percent, following a similar decrease the previous month.
Despite the decline in July, the number of regular beneficiaries was still 287,400, or 57.4 percent above the level in October 2008.
The largest declines occurred in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. The declines in those provinces were the first since the labour market started to deteriorate in the fall of 2008.
EI rolls shrank by 5.9 percent in Ontario, by 5.3 per cent in Quebec and 4.4 percent in Alberta.
The only province to record a notable increase was Newfoundland and Labrador, where 47,700 people received benefits in July, up by 2,900, or 6.5 percent, from June.
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