The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in February increased by 44,300, or 7.8% from January, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan experienced the strongest increases.

The number of regular EI beneficiaries has climbed 21.9% since October 2008, reaching 610,200 in February, StatsCan said.

Over the same period, the number of regular EI beneficiaries has increased in almost all provinces and territories, with the largest percentage gains in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario.

In Alberta, the number of regular beneficiaries jumped by 27.3% in one month to 30,600 in February, bringing the total increase since October 2008 to 67.9%.

The number of beneficiaries in B.C. reached 63,700 after an 11.6% increase in February. The total increase since October 2008 was 39.8%.

In Ontario, the 7.8% increase in February brought the number of regular EI beneficiaries to 198,900. Since October 2008, the number of beneficiaries has risen by 28.6%.

From January to February, the number of beneficiaries in Saskatchewan rose 7.3% to 10,000. Since October 2008, the number of beneficiaries has risen 17.6%, slower than the national average of 21.9%.

IE