In another sign of weakening labour market conditions, the number of workers collecting employment insurance (EI) benefits continued its rise in August, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The national statistical agency reported the number of EI recipients climbed by 1.5% in the month, marking the third increase in four months.
“Prior to these increases, the number of regular EI beneficiaries had held relatively steady from September 2023 to April 2024,” StatCan said.
Over this period, the jobless rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 6.6%, it noted, “as more people searched for work, while overall employment was little changed.”
With the latest monthly increase in EI usage, the number of workers getting benefits was up by 5.6% on a year-over-year basis, the agency said.
StatCan also reported that the number of laid-off workers rose by 14.8% — an increase of 94,000 to 728,000 — over the past 12 months, and the unemployment rate was up 1.1 points in that period too.
Year over year, the number of EI recipients increased across all major demographic groups, but the increase in August was concentrated among men aged 25 to 54, who accounted for the bulk of the rise in jobless benefits.
By sector, the rise in EI beneficiaries came primarily in the manufacturing and utilities sectors, StatCan noted.