Following a decline in May, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits was little changed in June at 501,900.
Figures released this morning by Statistics Canada reveal the number of beneficiaries fell notably in Ontario and New Brunswick, while increasing sharply in British Columbia.
The change in the number of regular EI beneficiaries reflects various situations, including people becoming beneficiaries, people going back to work and people no longer receiving regular benefits.
In Ontario, EI beneficiary numbers fell for the second consecutive month, down 3.2% in June. There were declines in 14 of the 15 metropolitan areas in the province, ranging from 13.6% in Windsor to 1.6% in Brantford. The number of beneficiaries in Toronto fell for the third consecutive month, down 2.2% to 54,500. St. Catharines–Niagara (+2.1%) was the lone metropolitan area in the province to record more beneficiaries in June, offsetting the decline of the previous month.
The number of people receiving benefits in New Brunswick declined by 2.5% in June, as the province posted a second consecutive monthly decrease. At the same time, there were fewer beneficiaries in Saint John, also for the second month in a row.
The number of beneficiaries declined for the second consecutive month in Quebec, down 1.6% in June. The Québec metropolitan area posted a notable decrease of 11.4% for the month. However, there were more beneficiaries in the other five metropolitan areas of the province, with increases ranging from 5.1% in Gatineau to 1.0% in Saguenay. In Montréal, 58,200 people received benefits in June, up 4.0%.
