Summary of the evaluation of the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Evaluation of the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative

The Initiative came into force in 2013 and comprised a set of four measures to help unemployed workers return to work more quickly.

Key findings

The evaluation found there was a need to facilitate more effective job searches and encourage Employment Insurance claimants to accept all suitable work. While some of the measures somewhat contributed to the initiative's objectives, others had mixed effects.

1. Legislative changes to the definitions of "reasonable job search" and "suitable employment" and enhanced integrity measures

• Enhanced integrity measures led to better monitoring of claimants and helped them return to work faster.
• However, the legislative changes did not encourage them to increase their job search efforts.
• Claimants had low awareness of the changes.

2. Enhancements to Job Alerts and labour market information

• Awareness and take-up of Job Alerts increased.
• However, there was no significant improvement in labour market outcomes.

3. Improved connections between the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the EI Program

• The measure had a minimal impact on the number of Canadians considered and hired for jobs for which employers requested temporary foreign workers.

4. Collaboration projects with British Columbia and Manitoba

• The effectiveness of the measure was limited.
• Evidence suggests that this type of intervention could be effective if it is better targeted at certain subgroups of Employment Insurance claimants.

The full Evaluation of the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs Initiative is now available.