The number of people receiving regular employment insurance benefits fell 2.4 per cent (down 19,100 people) in August, the second consecutive monthly decline.
Decreases occurred in nearly all provinces, with the most notable percentage declines in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to Statistics Canada.
There were 763,200 beneficiaries in August, up 52.5 percent from the start of the economic downturn in October 2008.
The number of beneficiaries plunged 8.7 percent in August to 43,600 in Newfoundland and Labrador. This was the first decline for the province since the start of the l abour market downturn in October 2008.
In Ontario, the number of regular EI beneficiaries fell by 14,800 (a drop of 5.6 percent) to 247,400, the second consecutive monthly decline. Prior to these two declines, Canada’s most populous province had seen the number of beneficiaries increase at an average pace of 16,500 a month between October and June.
In Saskatchewan, 13,000 people received regular EI benefits in August, down 5.3 per cent from July. Manitoba experienced its third consecutive monthly drop, as the number of recipients fell 4.5 percent to 14,500.
On the other side of the coin, Quebec and New Brunswick were the only provinces with an increase in the number of people receiving EI. In Quebec, 208,000 people received benefits in August, up 4.9 per cent following a decline in July. The number of beneficiaries in New Brunswick edged up 650 to 37,100 in August.
