The number of people receiving regular employment insurance benefits declined in March, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
There were 668,100 EI beneficiaries during the month, down 24,200 from February and marking the sixth consecutive monthly decline, the federal agency said.
Beneficiaries fell in most provinces, with Ontario, Quebec and Alberta seeing the biggest declines.
"Nearly half the increase in beneficiaries that occurred during the labour market downturn has been offset by declines since June 2009 when the number of beneficiaries peaked," the agency said.
