Chapter 2: Impact and effectiveness of Employment Insurance benefits (Part I of the Employment Insurance Act)

Employment Insurance claims and amount paid

The total number of new EI claims established was 1.9 million in 2022‑23 (consult Table 3). This is close to pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2018‑19 and 2019‑20 (1.8 million and 1.9 million, respectively) and significantly lower than the peak of 3.0 million reached in 2020‑21 attributable to the economic and labour market disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new claims established in 2022‑23 was also lower than in the previous fiscal year (2.1 million in 2021‑22), partially due to generally improving labour market conditions and relatively low unemployment rates. The total EI benefit payments dropped by $17 billion to reach $19.7 billion during 2022‑23. This decline can be explained by the lower number of new claims established in 2022‑23 compared to previous years, the completion of the large number of claims established in 2020‑21 that received benefits in 2021‑22, the wind down of all of the EI temporary measures (consult Section 2.1) and the return the original EI rules during the reporting period.

• Notes: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes all claims for which at least $1 of Employment Insurance benefits was paid. The sum of claims by benefit type does not add up as multiple benefit types can be combined in one single claim.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a sample of 10% of the EI administrative data, except for family caregiver, Work-Sharing and compassionate care benefits as well as claims for fishing benefits (100%).

According to Statistics Canada,^{Footnote 1} there were 730,300 beneficiaries receiving EI benefits on average each month during 2022‑23. This is similar to pre-pandemic levels and almost half the 1.4 million beneficiaries on average each month in 2021‑22.

New Employment Insurance claims established

The reduced number of new EI claims observed during the reporting period relative to 2021‑22 is largely attributed to a decline in claims for regular and sickness benefits (consult Table 3). After increasing to 81.1% in 2020‑21 because of the disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of regular claims among all new claims established returned close to pre-pandemic levels in 2022‑23 (67.8%). The share of claims for sickness benefits (22.0%) in 2022‑23 ─ which are the second most common benefit type claimed ─ also returned to levels usually recorded before the pandemic.

All provinces and territories, as well as both genders, experienced declines in the number of new EI claims established in 2022‑23 compared to 2021‑22 (consult Table 4). Men continued to account for just over half (53.0%) of all new claims in 2022‑23. All age groups also registered declines in their number of new EI claims established during the reporting period relative to 2021‑22. The share of claims established by claimants 24 years old and under, that reached 14.5% in 2020‑21, returned close to pre-pandemic levels in 2022‑23 (9.2%). The breakdown of claims among the other age groups was also similar to the one observed prior to the pandemic.

• Notes: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI benefits was paid.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a sample of 10% of the EI administrative data.

Total amount paid in Employment Insurance benefits

The total amount paid for all types of EI benefits combined declined to $19.7 billion in 2022‑23 compared to $36.8 billion in 2021‑22. This decline was largely attributable to the decrease in the amount paid in EI regular benefits (‑$16.3 billion) over the same period. The lower number of new claims established in 2022‑23 compared to previous years, the completion of the large number of claims established in 2020‑21 that received benefits in 2021‑22, and the end of all of the EI temporary measures during the reporting period contributed to the overall decrease in benefits paid in 2022‑23 (consult Section 2.1).

The breakdown of the amount paid by benefit type in 2022‑23 returned close to pre-pandemic levels. The share of EI regular benefits paid fell from 77.9% in 2021‑22 to 62.4% in 2022‑23, while the share of EI special benefits increased from 20.9% in 2021‑22 to 35.6% in 2022‑23 (consult Chart 1). The shares of amount paid by benefit type in 2022‑23 were similar to the shares of claims established by benefit type during the same period.

Text description for Chart 1

Benefit type	Amount paid ($ millions)	Share in percentage (%)
Regular benefits	$12,310.0	62.4%
Work-Sharing benefits	$30.6	0.2%
Fishing benefits	$372.5	1.9%
Special benefits	$7,017.5	35.6%
Parental benefits	$3,499.6	17.7%
Sickness benefits	$2,003.4	10.2%
Maternity benefits	$1,356.3	6.9%
Compassionate care and family caregiving benefits	$158.3	0.8%
Amount paid in Employment Insurance benefits	$19,730.7	100.0%

• * The total amount paid reported in Chart 1 does not correspond to the total reported in Tables 3 and 4 because data on compassionate care benefits and family caregiver benefits can only be reported on a 100% sampling basis on an aggregate level.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a sample of 10% of the EI administrative data, except for Work-Sharing, family caregiver and compassionate care benefits (100%).

Claimants in Ontario and Quebec continued to receive higher shares of the total amount paid in EI benefits in 2022‑23, followed by those from Alberta and British Columbia.  All provinces and territories recorded declines in benefits paid during the reporting year.

EI benefits paid to both genders and to each age group declined from the previous fiscal year. Women accounted for 51.4% of the benefits paid in 2022‑23, virtually unchanged from 2021-22. In terms of age groups, the share of EI benefits paid to claimants 24 years old and under decreased from 11.7% in 2021‑22 to 7.7% in 2022‑23, whereas the share of claimants between 25 and 44 years old increased from 48.4% to 55.4% over the same period. The distribution of EI benefits paid across age groups returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Levels of benefits

During the reporting period, the original EI rules related to the calculation of the weekly benefit rate to which EI claimants are entitled were in place, which are the Variable Best Weeks (VBW) provision. Under this provision, the weekly benefit rate is calculated based on an EI claimant’s highest (best) weeks of insurable earnings during their qualifying period. The number of highest (best) weeks used under this provision ranges from 14 to 22, depending on the effective unemployment rate in the claimant’s EI economic region at the time the claim is established.

• *The monthly regional unemployment rates used for the EI program are a 3‑month moving average of seasonally adjusted rates of unemployment produced by Statistics Canada, except for EI regions in the territories which use the higher of the 3‑month or 12‑month moving average, as per section 17 of the Employment Insurance Regulations.

Under the EI program, the weekly benefit rate is paid as 55%^{Footnote 2} of the average weekly insurable earnings, up to the maximum weekly benefit rate in a given year.^{Footnote 3} Claimants with children (under the age of 18 years) and low annual family income may also be eligible for the Family Supplement provision.^{Footnote 4}

In the previous 2 fiscal years, the calculation of the weekly benefit rate varied depending on when claims were established. This was due to the 2 different sets of EI temporary measures that were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (consult Section 2.1).

For all claims established in 2022‑23, excluding those for extended parental benefits, the average weekly benefit rate was $535. Yukon had the highest average weekly benefit rate ($603), while Nova Scotia had the lowest average weekly benefit rate ($501). On average, men were entitled to a higher weekly benefit rate than women ($565 and $500, respectively). Claimants between 25 to 44 years old had the highest average weekly benefit rate ($551) among the age groups (consult Annex 2.3.2).

Just under half of all claimants (45.5%) who established a claim in 2022‑23 were entitled to the maximum weekly benefit rate. This proportion was the highest in Yukon (73.9%) and the lowest in Prince Edward Island (34.9%). Men were proportionally more likely to receive the maximum weekly benefit rate (56.9%) compared to women (32.4%). A higher proportion of claimants between 25 to 44 years old received the maximum weekly benefit rate (51.2%) than any other age group.

Family Supplement provision

The EI Family Supplement provision provides additional benefits to EI claimants with children under the age of 18 who have an annual family net income equal to or less than $25,921, supporting low-income families. The claimant must also receive the Canada Child Benefit. Under the Family Supplement provision, which is available to claims of all EI benefit types, the weekly amount of family supplement can increase a claimant’s benefit rate from 55% to a maximum of 80% of their weekly insurable earnings, up to the maximum weekly benefit rate. The supplement provided to eligible claimants is determined by the claimant’s family net income, the number of children in the claimant’s family, and the age of the claimant’s children.^{Footnote 5}

In 2022‑23, low-income families received a total of $43.7 million in additional EI benefits through the Family Supplement provision. A total of 46,000 claims received the family supplement in 2022‑23, which represents 2.4% of all claims established during the reporting period. The proportion of EI claims receiving the family supplement has decreased for the past 2 decades, from a high of 10.7% of all claims in 2000‑01. This decrease can be explained by the fact that the eligibility threshold for this provision has not been indexed over time, as well as by changes in family composition and wage growth.

Women (82.5%) and claimants aged 25 to 44 (71.8%) continued to be the main demographic groups benefitting from the Family Supplement provision. The average family supplement to the weekly benefit rate was $45 in 2022‑23, which is similar to the average top-up paid pre‑pandemic (consult Annex 2.23).

A recent departmental study^{Footnote 6} examined claims that would have been eligible to additional benefits under the EI Family Supplement provision if the annual family net income thresholds were adjusted for inflation. The study found that the share of EI claims eligible for the family supplement would be 2.9 percentage points higher if the annual family net income thresholds were adjusted for inflation for claims that started in 2022, whereas the family supplement to the weekly benefit rate would be, on average, $3 higher. If both the family net income thresholds and the family supplement amounts were adjusted for inflation, the family supplement to the weekly benefit rate would be, on average, $25 higher.

Supplemental Unemployment Benefit plans

While EI benefits provide temporary income support for claimants, employers can use a Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) plan to increase their employees’ weekly earnings when they are unemployed due to a temporary stoppage of work, training, illness, injury or quarantine.^{Footnote 7} These SUB plans need to be registered with Service Canada so that supplemental payments (or top-ups) are not considered as earnings and are not deducted from EI benefits. The combined weekly payments from the plan and EI weekly benefits cannot exceed 95% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings.

Employers can also provide supplemental payments to maternity, parental (including adoption), compassionate care and family caregiver benefits.^{Footnote 8} These plans do not have to be registered with Service Canada. The top-up amounts are not deducted from EI benefits if the combined weekly payments do not exceed 100% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings and the plan does not use the supplemental payments to reduce other accumulated employment benefits (such as banked sick leave, vacation leave credits or severance pay).

Results on average weekly benefit rates presented in this chapter do not include any supplemental payments made to EI claimants by their employers.

Employment Insurance regular claims and amount paid by province or territory, gender and age

Table 7 outlines the number of new EI regular claims established and the total amount paid in benefits by province and territory, gender and age category. The figures are presented for both halves of 2022‑23 as well as for 2021‑22. Overall, the number of claims established for EI regular benefits decreased in all provinces and territories in 2022‑23 compared to the previous fiscal year. The relative share of claims established across regions was similar to 2021‑22 and to pre-pandemic levels. Ontario (29.3%) and Quebec (29.2%) had the highest share of regular claims established in 2022‑23.

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

In terms of regular benefits paid out, all jurisdictions saw a decrease compared to the previous fiscal year. The share of benefits paid to claimants from Ontario stood out, as it decreased by 6.4 percentage points (p.p.), from 34.1% in 2021‑22 to 27.7% in 2022‑23. Inversely, the share of benefits paid in several other provinces increased in 2022‑23, notably in Newfoundland and Labrador (+2.5 p.p.), New Brunswick (+2.0 p.p.) and Quebec (+1.8 p.p.).

The majority of EI regular claims in 2022‑23 were established by men (59.0%), similar to previous years. However, they accounted for less than half (44.2%) of claims established in the first half of 2022‑23, compared to 69.1% in the second half of the fiscal year. This can be partly attributed to the composition of genders across industries. For example, men are more likely to be employed in goods-producing industries than women, and a higher share of claims from these industries, notably the Construction industry, are established in the second half of the fiscal year. In terms of regular benefits paid out, the total amount decreased for both men and women compared to 2021‑22. Women accounted for a lower share of EI regular benefits paid in 2022‑23 (36.1%) than in 2021‑22 (44.2%). This can be partly attributed to the end of the EI temporary measures, which, among other things, likely increased the weekly benefit rate of women to a greater extent than that of men.

Among age groups, claimants aged between 25 and 44 years accounted for the largest share of claims established for EI regular benefits (45.2%) and benefits paid out (43.5%) in 2022‑23. Conversely, claimants aged 24 years and under accounted for the smallest share of both EI regular claims (9.1%) and benefits paid out (9.3%) during the fiscal year. In addition, claimants aged 24 years and under experienced the largest relative decrease in regular claims in 2022-23 compared to the other age groups. As a result, their share of claims established decreased by 2.8 p.p. in 2022‑23 compared to 2021‑22 and returned close to pre-pandemic levels. This decrease is partly attributed to improved labour market conditions in 2022‑23 in industries in which the youth generally worked, as well as the end of the EI temporary measures that, among other things, reduced the required number of hours of insurable employment to qualify for EI regular benefits during the reporting period.

Employment Insurance regular claims and amount paid by industry

As outlined in Table 8, services-producing industries accounted for the majority (60.1%) of EI regular claims established in 2022‑23. This represented a small decrease (‑2.5 p.p.) from 2021‑22 and was mostly driven by decreases in the share of claims in the Accommodations and food services industry (‑2.9 p.p.) and the Retail trade industry (-1.3 p.p.). These industries were strongly affected by the succession of closures and reopenings due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020‑21 and 2021‑22 (consult Annex 2.6.1).

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Percentage shares are based on unrounded numbers. Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * This industry sector comprises the industries with codes 55 (Management of companies and enterprises) and 56 (Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services).
• ** This industry sector comprises the industries with codes 51 (Information and cultural industries) and 71 (Arts, entertainment and recreation).
• *** For some claims, this information was not available in the data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

On the other hand, goods-producing industries accounted for 36.8% of the share of new claims established in 2022‑23. These industries represented a significantly greater share of claims established in the second half of the fiscal year (46.3%) compared to the first half (22.9%) of the year. This is attributed to a larger proportion of seasonal employment in these industries. Moreover, the Construction industry continued to hold the largest share of new claims established for EI regular benefits in 2022‑23, with a share of 21.7%.

Overall, services-producing industries accounted for 57.5% of regular benefits paid out in 2022‑23, down from 69.6% in 2021‑22, whereas goods-producing industries represented 39.5% of regular benefits paid out, up from 27.8% over the same period. The breakdown of regular benefits paid across industry group in 2022‑23 was similar to the one observed before the pandemic. Of all industries, the Construction sector accounted for the highest share (22.4%) of benefits paid in the fiscal year examined.

Employment Insurance benefit repayments

EI benefit payments are taxable income, regardless of the type of benefits. Depending on their net income and whether they were paid EI regular benefits, including fishing benefits, individuals may be required to repay some of the EI benefits at the time they file income tax returns.

In accordance with the Employment Insurance Act, claimants must repay a percentage of EI benefits they received if their net income^{Footnote 16} in a given year exceeds 1.25 times the maximum yearly insurable earnings.^{Footnote 17} Claimants whose net income exceeded that threshold were required to repay 30% of the lesser of:

• the net income in excess of the threshold, or
• the total regular benefits, including fishing benefits, paid to the claimant in the taxation year

The threshold was $67,750 for the 2020 taxation year and $70,375 for the 2021 taxation year.

Claimants who received EI special benefits are exempt from the benefit repayment requirement.^{Footnote 18} In addition, claimants who received less than one week of EI regular or fishing benefits in the preceding 10 taxation years are also exempt from repaying benefits.

In the 2020 taxation year, around 171,000 EI claimants repaid a total of $250.8 million in EI benefits. These numbers increased in the following year, with around 245,000 claimants who repaid a total of $450.6 million in EI benefits in the 2021 taxation year. This increase is attributed in part to the higher number of claims established for EI benefits in 2020‑21 as a result of the economic and labour market disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In both 2020 and 2021, Quebec and Ontario together accounted for slightly more than half of EI claimants who repaid benefits, while they accounted for slightly less than half of all benefits repaid (consult Table 9). This was also the case in previous years.

• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 100% sample of EI administrative data.

Men continued to account for the majority of EI claimants who repaid benefits in 2020 and 2021. While they also accounted for the majority of benefits repaid, their share of the total amount repaid decreased from 89.4% in 2020 to 83.4% in 2021. This is mostly attributed to the first set of EI temporary measures in effect for claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021, which increased the average weekly benefit of women to a greater extent than that of men.

In terms of age groups, claimants aged between 25 and 44 years continued to account for the largest share of individuals who repaid benefits and of benefits repaid in both 2020 and 2021.

Claimants who had worked in the goods-producing industries continued to account for the majority of individuals who repaid benefits and of the total benefits repaid in 2020 and 2021. However, their share among all claimants who repaid benefits decreased in 2021 (-6.2 p.p.) compared to 2020. Similarly, their share of the total benefits repaid decreased during the same period (-9.7 p.p.). Despite these changes, the Construction industry continued to account for the largest share of EI claimants who repaid benefits and of benefits repaid in both 2020 and 2021 (consult Annex 2.28).

Employment Insurance regular benefits and firms

According to the 2021 tax data^{Footnote 19} from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which were the most recent data available at the time this report was produced, approximately 1.25 million firms were operating in Canada in 2021 (consult Table 10). This represents an increase of 1.3% from the total measured in 2020. Among them, 33.1% (414,200 firms) employed at least one employee who had received EI regular benefits during that year. This proportion is virtually identical to the one observed in 2020 (33.0%), but higher compared to 2019 (22.9%). It likely reflects the continued labour market disruptions in 2021 attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Note: Data may not add up due to rounding.
• * Small-sized firms are defined as those that employ 1 to 19 employees. Small-to-medium sized firms employ 20 to 99 employees. Medium-to-large sized firms employ 100 to 499 employees. Large-sized firms employ 500 employees or more.
• ** The number of workers in a firm is the number of individuals with employment income in that firm, as indicated on a T4 form. The number of workers is adjusted so that each individual in the labour force is only counted once and individuals who work for more than one firm are taken into account. For example, if an employee that earned $25,000 in firm 1 and $25,000 in firm 2, then he or she was recorded as 0.5 employees at the first firm and 0.5 employees at the second firm.
• *** These are based on the number of people receiving EI regular benefits in 2021.
• Sources: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 100% sample of EI administrative data; Canada Revenue Agency, CRA administrative data. CRA data are based on a 100% sample.

The proportion of firms which employed at least one employee receiving EI regular benefits increased with firm size. In 2021, 27.2% of small-sized firms had at least one former employee who received EI regular benefits. That ratio increased to 89.3% for small-to-medium sized firms, 98.7% for medium-to-large sized firms and 99.8% for large-sized firms. These ratios were all very similar to the ratios observed in the 2020 tax year.

Similar to before the pandemic, employees from smaller firms are found to be overrepresented among claimants for EI regular benefits when comparing the distribution of claimants by firm size to the distribution of the workforce by firm size. As shown in Table 10, small firms accounted for 21.4% of the total workforce, while they represented 25.5% of the claimants for EI regular benefits in 2021. Similarly, small-to-medium sized firms accounted for 19.2% of the workforce and 25.3% of claimants. On the other hand, large-sized firms accounted for 43.4% of the workforce, but only 32.0% of claimants. This suggests that smaller-sized firms are more vulnerable to difficult business or economic conditions than large firms are (for instance, economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic). As a result, these firms may be more likely to make broader adjustments to their workforces, resulting in a larger share of employees claiming EI regular benefits because of layoffs. Moreover, industry-related characteristics such as the greater prevalence of seasonal jobs in small-sized firms may have an influence, as these firms are generally more likely to rely on EI benefits, relative to the national average in some industries.^{Footnote 21}

Employment Insurance regular claims and amount paid by EI claimant category

Table 11 outlines the number of claims established for EI regular benefits and the amount paid by EI claimant category.^{Footnote 22} The number of claims established in 2022‑23 decreased among occasional claimants and long-tenured workers, but slightly increased among frequent claimants compared to the previous fiscal year. Overall, occasional claimants continued to account for more than half (56.7%) of the share of EI regular claims established in 2022‑23.

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

In terms of EI regular benefits paid, occasional claimants also accounted for more than half (54.0%) of benefits paid in 2022‑23, followed by frequent claimants (25.3%) and long-tenured workers (20.7%). There were decreases in the shares of EI regular benefits paid to occasional claimants (-8.4 p.p.) and long-tenured workers (-3.3 p.p.) from the last fiscal year, while the share of frequent claimants increased significantly (+11.7 p.p.).

In general, the shares of both claims established for regular benefits and benefits paid appear to be trending towards pre-pandemic level across claimant categories (consult Annex 2.5.1).

Employment Insurance regular claims by hours of insurable employment and unemployment rate in the Employment Insurance economic region of establishment

Claimants must have worked a minimum number of hours of insurable employment ranging from 420 to 700 hours in order to qualify for EI regular benefits. The number of required hours to qualify depends on the unemployment rate in the EI economic region at the time of submitting the application for EI and is known as the Variable Entrance Requirement (VER). The higher the unemployment rate in a given region, the lower the number of hours needed to qualify for EI regular benefits and vice versa (consult Annex 2.2 for the full breakdown). A detailed discussion on the eligibility and access to EI regular benefits is provided in subsection 2.2.2.

As mentioned in Section 2.1, the number of hours of insurable employment required to qualify for EI regular benefits varied in 2022‑23 depending on the period during which the claims were established. During the first half of 2022‑23, the second set of EI temporary measures was in place, under which a minimum of 420 hours of insurable employment was required to qualify, regardless of the regional unemployment rate. During the second half of 2022‑23, the minimum ranged from 420 to 700 hours depending on the regional unemployment rate where the claimant lived at the time the claim is established, as the original EI rules were reintroduced.

Chart 6 illustrates the distribution of EI regular claims by the number of hours of insurable employment that were used to qualify for these benefits for the first and second halves of 2022‑23. During the entire reporting year, claimants who accumulated 1,820 or more hours of insurable employment during their qualifying period accounted for the largest share (23.5%) of EI regular claims established, while claimants who accumulated between 420 and 699 hours accounted for the smallest share (7.9%). The share of claimants who accumulated between 420 and 699 hours of insurable employment went from 15.1% in the first half of 2022‑23 to 3.0% during the second half of 2022‑23. This is likely attributable to the termination of the EI temporary measures at the end of the first half of 2022-23 that allowed claimants to be eligible for EI regular benefits with a minimum of 420 hours of insurable employment, regardless of the regional unemployment rate.

Text description for Chart 6

Hours of insurable employment	Number of claims (% of total) First half of 2022‑23	Number of claims (% of total) Second half of 2022‑23
420 to 699 hours	78,990 (15.1%)	23,010 (3.0%)
700 to 979 hours	78,260 (15.0%)	131,130 (17.1%)
980 to 1259 hours	78,150 (14.9%)	143,280 (18.7%)
1260 to 1539 hours	96,700 (18.5%)	143,870 (18.8%)
1540 to 1819 hours	80,560 (15.4%)	131,320 (17.2%)
1820 hours and more	110,410 (21.1%)	192,560 (25.2%)

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Table 12 details the number and distribution of EI regular claims established in 2022‑23, as well as the labour force and the unemployed population by regional unemployment rate. In general, the distribution of EI regular claims across regional unemployment rate during 2022‑23 remained similar to the distribution of unemployed individuals reported in the Labour Force Survey. EI economic regions with an unemployment rate at 6% and lower represented the majority of EI regular claims established (64.9%), of the labour force (76.6%) and of the unemployed population (67.8%).

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * Unemployment rates used for the Employment Insurance program are a 3-month moving average of seasonally adjusted rates of unemployment produced by Statistics Canada, as per section 17 of the Employment Insurance Regulations.
• Sources: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data and Statistics Canada, special tabulations from the Labour Force Survey. EI data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

The share of claims established in EI economic regions with an unemployment rate at 6% or lower has increased significantly over the past fiscal years. As presented in Chart 7, these regions accounted for 29.6% of EI regular claims established in 2017‑18 compared to 50.1% in 2019‑20 and 64.9% in 2022‑23. This was likely due to the decrease in the unemployment rate in Canada in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the low unemployment rate recorded in 2022‑23.

Text description for Chart 7

Category	Share of claims (%) 2017‑18	Share of claims (%) 2018‑19	Share of claims (%) 2019‑20	Share of claims (%) 2022‑23
Regional unemployment rate: 6.0% or less	29.6%	31.8%	50.1%	64.9%
Regional unemployment rate: 6.1% to 8.0%	43.1%	47.1%	30.6%	21.1%
Regional unemployment rate: 8.1% to 10.0%	11.0%	4.2%	3.3%	2.5%
Regional unemployment rate: 10.1% to 13.0%	6.3%	7.0%	6.4%	5.9%
Regional unemployment rate: 13.1% or more	10.1%	9.9%	9.6%	5.7%
National unemployment rate	6.2%	5.8%	5.9%	5.1%

• Note: Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * Unemployment rates used for the Employment Insurance program are a 3-month moving average of seasonally adjusted rates of unemployment produced by Statistics Canada, as per section 17 of the Employment Insurance Regulations.
• ** Results are not presented for 2020‑21 and 2021‑22 because a minimum unemployment rate of 13.1% was in effect between September 27, 2020 and September 25,2021 due to the first set of EI temporary measures.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data and Statistics Canada.

Claimants’ obligations to search for and accept suitable employment

Under the Employment Insurance Act, claimants for EI regular benefits must be capable of and available for work and be unable to obtain suitable employment. This requirement, which must be met in order to receive EI regular benefits, can be demonstrated through reasonable and customary efforts to obtain suitable employment.

Claimants may be disentitled from receiving EI regular benefits when they fail to meet a specific entitlement condition. A disentitlement applies on a day-to-day basis for as long as the claimants' situation remains unchanged. Claimants may be disqualified from receiving EI regular benefits due to their specific action or inaction. The disqualification can be either indefinite or for a specific number of complete weeks.

Table 13 outlines the number of disqualifications and disentitlements related to refusal of suitable work and failure to search for work in past fiscal years. In 2022‑23, there were a total of 240 disqualifications and disentitlements related to failure to search for work and 50 related to refusal of suitable work. These results were very similar to those observed in 2021-22 and remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels. However, refusal of suitable work and failure to search for work represent only a fraction (less than 1.0%) of all disqualifications and disentitlements in the fiscal year. They also do not take into consideration that benefits would generally have been reinstated after claimants who were disentitled demonstrated that they were once again fulfilling their responsibilities, or after claimants who were disqualified served their weeks of disqualification.

• * The total for 2019‑20 is calculated using monthly estimates from April 2019 to February 2020, and excludes data for the month of March 2020. Additionally, 2020‑21 is excluded from the table because no new claims for EI regular benefits could be established between March 15 and September 26, 2020 when the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was introduced. As a result, the Employment Insurance Statistics program was suspended between the March and September 2020 reference months. Consequently, data on the number of EI disqualification and disentitlements are not available for this period.
• Source: Statistics Canada, monthly Employment Insurance disqualifications and disentitlements, Table 14-10-0004-01.

Coverage of Employment Insurance regular benefits

The coverage rate of EI regular benefits shows the proportion of unemployed individuals who contributed to the EI program by paying EI premiums in the preceding 52 weeks prior to becoming unemployed. Thus, the coverage rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed individuals who had insurable employment and paid EI premiums within the previous 52 weeks by the number of total unemployed individuals in Canada. In 2022, the coverage rate was 59.2%, 11.8 p.p. lower than what was observed in 2021 (71.0%).

Higher coverage rates of EI regular benefits are usually observed during economic downturns, as slowing economic activities lead to layoffs that increase the share of unemployed EI contributors among all unemployed individuals. For example, the coverage rates were higher in 2015 and 2016, during the downturn in commodity prices, and in 2021 due to layoffs following the COVID-19 pandemic (consult Chart 10). Compared to the pre-pandemic levels, the coverage rate of 59.2% in 2022 was 3.5 p.p. lower than the average rate of 62.7% observed in 2018 and 2019. This can be explained by the larger decrease in unemployed individuals who had paid EI premiums in proportion to the decrease in the unemployed due to the tighter labour market in 2022 relative to before the pandemic.

Text description for Chart 10

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020*	2021	2022
Coverage rate of Employment Insurance regular benefits	64.7%	64.5%	61.7%	62.5%	61.0%	65.3%	65.3%	63.0%	63.9%	61.5%	Not available	71.0%	59.2%

• * Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the collection of EI regular benefits was suspended in the EICS 2020.
• Source: Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, 2010 to 2022.

Table 14 outlines the coverage rates of EI regular benefits in 2022 by province^{Footnote 25}, gender, age, and previous work patterns. Consistent to the historical pattern, the Atlantic provinces have higher coverage rates than the rest of the country. This may be explained by the composition of unemployed individuals, such as the prevalence of the seasonal employment pattern in that region.^{Footnote 26} Ontario continued to have the lowest coverage rate in 2022.

• ^E As per the EICS release guidelines, this estimate should be used with caution.
• ^† Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the collection of EI regular benefits was suspended in the EICS 2020.
• * The coverage rates of unemployed individuals for most of the work pattern categories are higher than the national average. This can be explained by the 0% coverage rate of unemployed individuals for whom a previous work pattern is not applicable because they never worked before. The national average is lower because these individuals are included.  
• ** Seasonal employment is temporary work that is expected to last only until the end of a ‘season’—the period for which services are in demand.
• *** Other non-standard refers to non-permanent paid jobs that were either temporary, term, contractual, casual or other non-permanent (but not seasonal) employment. This excludes unemployed individuals who were self-employed.
• **** National results exclude territories.
• Source: Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, 2018 to 2022.

Consistent with trend in previous years, the coverage rate for men was higher than that for women in 2022. The lower coverage rate for women can be explained by the fact that unemployed women are less likely to have recent insurable employment compared to unemployed men. The coverage rate of younger unemployed individuals was still the lowest and the coverage rate for those aged 45 years and older remained the highest in 2022.

When the unemployed population is categorized by their previous work patterns, it can be seen that a higher share of unemployed individuals with previous non-permanent jobs paid EI premiums in the previous 52 weeks than those who had permanent jobs. This can be explained by the high coverage rate of unemployed individuals who worked in non-permanent seasonal jobs. As these individuals work for a few weeks or months on a cyclical pattern over a year, they are more likely to have paid EI premiums in the previous 52 weeks than those who were in permanent jobs and might be unemployed for more than a year. Among unemployed individuals who previously held permanent jobs, the coverage rate in 2022 for those who had part-time jobs was lower than the one for those who had full-time jobs. This is due in part by employment in industries such as Accommodation and food services where part-time jobs are more prevalent that were still lagging their pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Among unemployed individuals who previously were in non-permanent employment, those who had seasonal work had a significantly higher coverage rate in 2022 compared to those who had non-seasonal non-standard work.

Eligibility for Employment Insurance regular benefits

As mentioned at the beginning of this subsection, applicants for EI regular benefits must meet 3 criteria to be considered eligible (they must have paid EI premiums, have a valid reason for job separation, and have accumulated the required hours of insurable employment during their qualifying period). In 2022‑23, the eligibility rate is expressed as the share of job separators^{Footnote 27} with sufficient hours of insurable employment in their qualifying period among those who meet the other 2 eligibility criteria. The calculation of eligibility rate relies on ROEs and Status Vector (STVC)^{Footnote 28} data for 2022‑23. This job separator-based methodology is different from the job separation-based methodology that was used for 2020‑21 and 2021‑22. Consequently, the results in this subsection are not comparable to results published in the previous MARs. The calculation took into account the EI temporary measure in effect during the 2022‑23 period regarding the treatment of reasons for separation (consult Section 2.1).

As the eligibility criteria changed during the course of 2022‑23 (for example, 420 hours between April 1 and September 24, 2022 compared to 420 to 700 hours between September 25, 2022 and March 31, 2023) eligibility rates are reported separately for these 2 periods of 2022‑23.

As outlined in Table 15, the national eligibility rate was 73.5% during the first half of 2022‑23, higher than the 57.0% during the second half of 2022‑23. This is mainly attributable to the lower number of hours of insurable employment required to qualify for EI regular benefits and the simplified treatment of reason for separation that were in effect during the first half of the fiscal year. Job separators in Manitoba, British Columbia, and Ontario had slightly lower eligibility rates during the entire 2022‑23 period compared to the national average. Among the other provinces, those in the Atlantic region had generally higher eligibility rates.

• Source: Records of Employment (ROE) data (for information on hours of insurable employment in the qualifying period for job separation) and Social Insurance Registry (for information on gender and age of job separators), Status Vector file (for information on benefits period commence week if an ROE was used to establish a claim). ROE and STVC data were as of August 2023 and based on a 10% sample.

In 2022‑23, men continued to have job separations that were more likely than women’s to be eligible for EI regular benefits. Job separators aged 24 years and under continued to have the lowest eligibility rate, notably during the second half of 2022‑23. This is probably because youth are more likely to be employed in part-time jobs and thus tend to accumulate less hours of insurable employment.

Access to Employment Insurance regular benefits

Access to EI regular benefits is another way to measure how the EI program is providing financial support to Canada’s unemployed following a job loss and helping them transition to new employment. For the purpose of the EI Monitoring and Assessment Report, access to EI regular benefits is measured by 2 ratios: the Beneficiary-to-Unemployed (B/U) ratio and the Beneficiary-to-Unemployed Contributor (B/UC) ratio.

The Beneficiary-to-Unemployed (B/U) ratio

The Beneficiary-to-Unemployed (B/U) ratio is calculated by dividing the average number of beneficiaries of EI regular benefits reported in Statistics Canada’s monthly EI Statistics releases by the number of unemployed individuals obtained from the EICS. As such, it includes a significant segment of the unemployed population who are ineligible for EI regular benefits (such as those who did not work in the previous year or never worked, who did not have a valid job separation, and those who were self-employed). Because of this, the B/U ratio is sensitive to changes in the composition of the unemployed population and the proportion of the unemployed individuals outside the scope of the EI program’s coverage.^{Footnote 29}

The Beneficiary-to-Unemployed Contributor (B/UC) ratio

The Beneficiary-to-Unemployed Contributor (B/UC) ratio is calculated by dividing the average number of beneficiaries of EI regular benefits by the number of unemployed individuals who contributed EI premiums in the previous 12 months obtained from the EICS. Because the B/UC ratio measures accessibility among unemployed workers for whom the EI regular benefits are designed to provide coverage and excludes those who did not contribute EI premiums during their last employment period or did not have any labour force attachment, this ratio provides a better assessment of accessibility to EI regular benefits among its target population.

Chart 11 illustrates the B/U and B/UC ratios over the past 13 years. In 2022, the B/U ratio was 43.5% and the B/UC ratio was 73.4%. The number of beneficiaries of EI regular benefits (B) in 2022 was higher, on average, than in 2018 and 2019, likely due to the EI temporary measures that facilitated access to EI benefits during the period. Conversely, the number of total unemployed (U) and unemployed contributors (UC) were lower in 2022 compared to 2018 and 2019 attributable, in part, to the strong labour market conditions in 2022. As a result, both ratios were higher than levels recorded before the pandemic.

Text description for Chart 11

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020*	2021**	2022
Beneficiary-to-Unemployed (B/U) ratio	48.9%	43.2%	40.6%	38.4%	38.6%	42.0%	41.8%	42.1%	39.3%	39.6%	Not available	Not available	43.5%
Beneficiary-to-Unemployed Contributor (B/UC) ratio	75.6%	67.1%	65.8%	61.5%	63.4%	64.3%	64.0%	66.9%	61.5%	64.4%	Not available	Not available	73.4%

• * Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the collection of EI regular benefits was suspended in the EICS 2020.
• ** With the economic condition prevailing in 2021 and the temporary changes to the EI program that were in place, data on EI beneficiaries were significantly affected. This resulted in incoherent calculated ratios for 2021. Consequently, both ratios were not reported for 2021.
• Sources: Statistics Canada, monthly Employment Insurance statistics release, Table 14-10-0010-01 (for data on EI regular beneficiaries (B)); and Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance Coverage Survey (for data on the number of unemployed (U) and the number of unemployed contributors (UC)).

Maximum and actual duration of Employment Insurance regular benefits

Claimants who have successfully established a claim for EI regular benefits are entitled to a maximum number of weeks of regular benefits they may receive, known as their entitlement. The maximum entitlement is determined by the number of hours of insurable employment accumulated by claimants during their qualifying period^{Footnote 32} and the effective unemployment rate in the claimant’s EI economic region at the time the claim is established.^{Footnote 33}

The EI program is designed to respond automatically to changes in economic conditions that affect local labour markets. The number of hours of insurable employment needed to qualify for EI regular benefits (420 to 700 hours) and the maximum number of weeks payable (14 to 45 weeks) vary depending on the monthly unemployment rate in the EI economic region in which the individual lives. When an EI region’s unemployment rate changes, the entrance requirement and the maximum number of weeks of EI regular benefits claimants are entitled to receive adjust in response.

In 2022‑23, due to the different sets of EI temporary measures in place, the maximum number of weeks of regular benefits to which claimants were entitled varied depending on when their claim was established. The maximum number of weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021 was set at 50 weeks as part of the first set of EI temporary measures. For claims established on or after September 26, 2021, the maximum entitlement returned to the pre-pandemic range of between 14 and 45 weeks (consult Section 2.1 for all the EI temporary measures in place during the period).

The number of weeks of benefits that an EI claimant actually receives during a claim (defined as the actual duration of a claim) is usually lower than the maximum entitlement. This is usually due to circumstances such as: the claimant has found work and is no longer unemployed, the claimant has switched to EI special benefits, or the claimant was disentitled from receiving regular benefits because they were not available for work during their claim.^{Footnote 34}

Claims established under the first set of Employment Insurance temporary measures

A small proportion of claims completed in 2022‑23 had been established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021. They had a maximum entitlement of 50 weeks. The average actual duration of these claims was 32.7 weeks. As outlined in Table 21, the average actual duration of these claims varied across provinces and territories. Claims established in the Territories, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan exhibited notably longer average actual duration, while those in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick had particularly shorter average actual duration.

• Note: Includes all completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

By gender, the average actual duration of claims completed by men was higher than for women (34.5 weeks and 31.1 weeks, respectively). In terms of age groups, older claimants were more likely to have higher average actual duration than younger claimants (consult Table 21). Furthermore, with regard to claimant categories, on average, occasional and frequent claimants used slightly more weeks than long-tenured workers.

In terms of industry breakdown, EI regular claims completed by claimants from Real estate, rental and leasing (39.9 weeks), Finance and insurance (39.9 weeks) and Accommodation and food services (38.5 weeks) reported, on average, higher actual durations. Conversely, claims established by claimants from the Educational services sector had the lowest average actual duration (20.5 weeks) due to the seasonal nature of this sector and the relatively short and well-defined “off-season” over the summer months (consult Annex 2.6.2).

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in the reporting year had an average maximum entitlement of 28.0 weeks (consult Chart 13). These claims were subject to the EI entitlement rules whereby the maximum entitlement ranges between 14 and 45 weeks. Their average maximum entitlement was slightly lower than the ones observed before the pandemic (30 weeks on average over the period of 2018-19 to 2019‑20). This can be explained in part by the larger share of claims that qualify for EI regular benefits with a low number of hours of insurable employment due to the second set of EI temporary measures, lowering the average entitlement compared to before the pandemic. Furthermore, claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022-23 had an average duration of 16.5 weeks of regular benefits. This is lower than the average duration of claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23. It is attributable, in part, to the continued improvement of labour market conditions with strong employment and low unemployment rates in 2022‑23 (consult Chapter 1).

Text description for Chart 13

Year	2013‑14	2014‑15	2015‑16*	2016‑17*	2017‑18*	2018‑19	2019‑20	2020‑21**	2021‑22***	2022‑23****
Average maximum entitlement	32.1	31.6	32.1	33.7	32.6	30.3	29.7	31.1	Not applicable	28.0
Average actual duration	19.7	19.4	19.3	20.7	20.3	18.5	18.2	21.1	Not applicable	16.5
Unemployment rate	7.2%	6.9%	7.1%	6.9%	6.2%	5.8%	5.9%	10.2%	6.8%	5.1%

• Note: Includes all completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * A temporary measure extended the number of weeks of EI regular benefits for claimants in 15 EI economic regions that were hit the hardest by the downturn in commodity prices during this period.
• ** Includes claims established before March 15, 2020 and completed in 2020‑21.
• *** Most claims completed in 2021‑22 were entitled 50 weeks of EI regular benefits, therefore their average actual duration is not comparable with the other fiscal years.
• **** Includes claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022-23.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• ^R Revised data.
• Sources: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data (for average maximum entitlement and average actual duration); Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0287-01 (for data on unemployment rates).

The average maximum entitlement of EI regular claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022-23 varied significantly across provinces and territories, reflecting differences in regional labour market and labour force characteristics in 2022‑23, as outlined in Table 22. EI regular claims established in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut had the highest average maximum entitlement (38.0 weeks and 37.5 weeks, respectively). These significantly higher maximum entitlements compared to the national average can be explained in part by the high unemployment rate observed in these jurisdictions (the unemployment rate was 10.5% in Newfoundland and Labrador and 12.7% in Nunavut in 2022‑23).^{Footnote 35} In comparison, EI regular claims established in Northwest Territories and British Columbia had the lowest average maximum entitlements (23.9 weeks and 25.6 weeks, respectively) corresponding to the low unemployment rates generally observed in these jurisdictions.

• Note: Includes all completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

In addition, the average maximum entitlement was lower for women and for claimants aged 24 years old and under in 2022‑23 partly because they are more likely to work in part-time jobs and to accumulate less hours of insurable employment. Long-tenured workers generally have higher maximum entitlements than occasional and frequent claimants, as they are more likely to accumulate hours of insurable employment well above the minimum requirements for EI regular benefits. This was true for completed claims in 2022-23 that was established on or after September 26, 2021.

Similar to the average maximum entitlement, the average actual duration of EI regular benefits in provinces and territories are also affected by regional labour market conditions. Claims established for EI regular benefits in regions with higher unemployment rates generally have a higher average actual duration than those established in regions with lower unemployment rates.

EI regular claims established in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut had the highest average actual duration (26.1 weeks and 22.7 weeks, respectively). In comparison, claims established in Quebec (14.4 weeks), British Columbia (15.1 weeks) and Ontario (15.4 weeks) registered a shorter average duration than the national level.

Results by gender and age group followed similar patterns than those of claims established under the first set of EI temporary measures. The average actual duration of claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022-23 for men was slightly higher than for women (16.8 weeks and 16.1 weeks, respectively), whereas older claimants were more likely to have higher average actual duration than younger claimants. With regard to claimant categories, on average, frequent claimants used more weeks than occasional and long-tenured workers, as outlined in Table 22.

By industry, EI regular claims completed by claimants from Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (20.8 weeks), Finance and insurance (20.0 weeks), Wholesale trade (19.3 weeks) and Public administration (19.1 weeks) reported, on average, higher actual durations. Similar to claims established under the first set of EI temporary measures, those established by claimants from the Educational services sector had the lowest average actual duration (11.3 weeks) (consult Annex 2.6.2).

Proportion of Employment Insurance regular benefit weeks used

As with the duration of EI regular benefits, a few factors may influence the proportion of entitlement used by claimants; for instance, the number of hours of insurable employment and the EI regional unemployment rates. Claimants with a greater number of hours of insurable employment and those residing in EI regions with lower unemployment rates are more likely to find employment following a job separation before they exhaust their weeks of EI benefits. Therefore, they use a lower proportion of their maximum entitlement for EI regular benefits. Consequently, greater maximum entitlements and lower EI regional unemployment rates are generally associated with lower proportions of regular benefits’ weeks used.

The average proportion of EI regular benefit weeks used is defined as the average number of weeks of EI regular benefits received by claimants as a share of their maximum entitlement.

Claims established under the first set of Employment Insurance temporary measures

A small portion of regular claims completed in 2022‑23 had been established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021 and were entitled 50 weeks of regular benefits. The average proportion of EI regular benefit weeks used by those claims was 65.3% (consult Table 23). This is similar to the proportion recorded in 2021‑22 (60.3%) for completed regular claims that were also entitled to 50 weeks of regular benefits. For claims completed in 2022‑23, the highest levels occurred in Nunavut (82.7%) and Northwest Territories (81.2 %). Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and British Columbia were the only regions that registered a proportion of EI regular benefits used below the national level of 65.3%.

• Note: Includes all completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

From a gender perspective, for claims established under the first set of EI temporary measures, men used more of their entitlement of 50 weeks of EI regular benefits compared to women (69.0% and 62.2%, respectively). Furthermore, the average proportion of regular benefit entitlement used increased with age—with older claimants (aged 55 and over) using the highest proportions (72.5%) and younger claimants (aged 24 years or less) using the lowest proportion (59.4%). This is due, in part, to the fact that it takes more time for older unemployed workers to find a new job, on average, than it does for unemployed workers of other age groups.

Long-tenured workers (59.9%) and occasional claimants (67.0%) used a lower portion of their EI regular benefit entitlement than frequent claimants (72.9%) did. Claimants working while on claim also used a lower portion of their entitlement, as they may have a stronger labour market attachment and may also defer weeks of EI regular benefits. This leads to a lower proportion of their entitlement weeks used compared to claimants who did not work while on claim.^{Footnote 36}

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021

Claims for EI regular benefits established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 had a maximum entitlement ranging between 14 to 45 weeks. The average proportion of EI regular benefit weeks used by those claims was 63.3%, which is close to the proportion used by claims before the pandemic when similar entitlement rules prevailed (63.7% in 2018‑19 and 64.1% in 2019‑20). The highest levels in 2022‑23 were recorded in Northwest Territories (76.0%) and Nova Scotia (71.3%). Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and Nunavut were the only jurisdictions that registered a proportion of EI regular benefits used below the national level of 63.3% (consult Table 23).

By gender, women used slightly more of their entitlement weeks of EI regular benefits compared to men (63.9% and 62.9%, respectively), which can be attributed to their lower average maximum entitlement. The average proportion of regular benefit entitlement used was the highest for older claimants (aged 55 and over) (72.2%). Claimants between 25 to 44 years and younger claimants (aged 24 years or less) used the lowest proportions (59.3% and 60.1%, respectively).

Long-tenured workers (47.8%) used a lower portion of their EI regular benefit entitlement than occasional claimants (63.9%) and frequent claimants (75.3%) did. This discrepancy between categories of claimants can be explained by the fact that long-tenured workers generally have stronger labour market attachment, tend to have more weeks of entitlement to regular benefits, and collect fewer weeks of benefits. As such, they use a lower proportion of their benefit weeks. This also applies to claimants working while on claim, as they may have a stronger labour market attachment and may also defer weeks of EI regular benefits. This leads to a lower proportion of their entitlement weeks used compared to claimants who did not work while on claim (58.4% vs 67.3%).

The proportion of entitlement used also varies based on the number of hours of insurable employment and the EI regional unemployment rates. Table 24 outlines the proportion of entitlement used, grouped by weeks of entitlement and EI regional unemployment rate^{Footnote 37} for claims completed in 2022‑23.

• Note: Includes all completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

All claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 were entitled 50 weeks of regular benefits and a minimum unemployment rate of 13.1% applied to all EI economic regions. Consequently, there are no results by weeks of entitlement and limited results by EI regional unemployment rate for these claims. These claims used, on average, 65.3% of their weeks of entitlement. The difficult economic conditions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic could explain, in part, this higher proportion of weeks of entitlement used. As illustrated in Table 24, claims established by claimants who lived in EI economic regions where the unemployment rate was above 13.1% had a higher proportion of their weeks of regular benefits used (72.3%). In comparison, the proportion of weeks used in EI economic regions where the minimum unemployment rate of 13.1% applied was 64.6%.

For claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23, the proportion of entitlement used generally fell as entitlement weeks increased, as claimants with shorter entitlement tend to use a greater proportion of their entitlement. Claims with the lowest amount of EI entitlement (between 14 to 19 weeks) used 82.9% of their entitlement compared to claims with the highest number of weeks of entitlement (45 weeks) who only used 48.7% of their entitlement in 2022‑23 (consult Table 24).

Conversely, higher proportions of entitlement used are generally associated with EI economic regions with higher unemployment rates. Although these EI regions typically provide higher entitlement, they are also often characterized by weaker labour market conditions. For claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23, those in lower EI unemployment rate regions (6% or lower) used 58.8% of their entitlement, whereas claims in higher EI unemployment rate regions (13.1% and higher) used 68.3% of their entitlement.

Level of Employment Insurance regular benefits for seasonal claimants

The average weekly benefit rate for seasonal regular claims established in 2022‑23 was $561 (consult Annex 2.9.3). This was higher than the average weekly benefit rate for non-seasonal regular claims ($524) established during the same period.

Duration of Employment Insurance regular benefits among seasonal claimants

Claims established under the first set of Employment Insurance temporary measures

The maximum number of weeks of EI regular benefits that can be paid to seasonal and non-seasonal regular claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021 was 50 weeks due to the first set of EI temporary measures (consult Section 2.1). For claims completed in 2022‑23, the average actual duration^{Footnote 43} of seasonal regular claims under those measures was 20.6 weeks, compared to 33.9 weeks for non-seasonal regular claims.

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021

Starting on September 26, 2021, the maximum entitlement to EI regular benefits ranged between 14 and 45 weeks. The average maximum entitlement of seasonal regular claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 was 29.7 weeks. This is comparable to the average maximum entitlement recorded in the years before the pandemic. In comparison, the average maximum entitlement of non-seasonal regular claims was 27.4 weeks. The average actual duration of seasonal regular claims was 17.1 weeks, compared to 16.3 weeks for non-seasonal regular claims.

The average maximum entitlement and the average actual duration of regular benefits are usually shorter for seasonal claimants than for non-seasonal claimants. This reflects the fact that seasonal claimants typically accumulate fewer hours of insurable employment prior to establishing a claim than non-seasonal claimants. In 2022‑23, the average maximum entitlement and average actual duration of seasonal regular claims that were established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 were slightly higher than those of non-seasonal claims in the same period. Among these non-seasonal regular claims, the share of claims qualified for EI regular benefits with less than 700 hours of insurable employment was higher than the share among the seasonal regular claims. This could explain, in part, the lower average entitlement for non-seasonal regular claims.

Overlapping definitions of seasonal and frequent claimants

Frequent EI claimants are defined as those who, within the past 5 years, have had 3 or more regular or fishing claims and have collected benefits for more than 60 weeks in total. Seasonal claimants are not considered frequent if they collected less than 60 weeks of EI regular or fishing benefits or both over the previous 5 years. Frequent claimants are not considered seasonal if they do not have at least 2 prior regular or fishing claims established at around the same time of year as their reference claim. However, there is a significant overlap between frequent claimants and seasonal claimants. 

In 2022‑23, the total number of EI regular claims established by seasonal or frequent or both claimants was 435,930. Among them, 225,560 claims were established by claimants who were both seasonal and frequent, representing 51.7% of the total regular claims established by seasonal or frequent or both claimants in 2022‑23 (consult Chart 15). Seasonal claimants who were non-frequent accounted for 35.9% of the total 435,930 regular claims established by seasonal or frequent or both claimants, whereas frequent non-seasonal claimants accounted for 12.4%.

Text description for Chart 15

Category	Frequent, non-seasonal	Frequent and seasonal	Non-frequent, seasonal
Level of claims	53,940	225,560	156,430
Share of total frequent and seasonal claims	12.4%	51.7%	35.9%

• Note: Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Table 28 compares the average duration, proportion of weeks of regular benefits used and exhaustion rate of EI regular claims established by the 3 groups. Given that most of the completed claims in 2022‑23 by seasonal claimants were established on or after September 26, 2021, the results discussed below focus on those claims.

• Note: Includes completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data

In general, frequent claimants use more EI support than non-frequent claimants. Among frequent claimants, non-seasonal claimants typically receive, on average, EI regular benefits for longer duration, use a greater proportion of their regular entitlement weeks and are more likely to exhaust their entitlement than seasonal claimants. This is likely due to seasonal claimants returning to their seasonal employment.

Temporary support measure providing additional weeks of EI regular benefits to seasonal claimants in 13 EI economic regions^{Footnote 44}

In August 2018, to better support seasonal workers, the government introduced a pilot project (Pilot Project No. 21) in 13 EI economic regions^{Footnote 45} of the country. This measure provided up to 5 additional weeks of EI regular benefits—to a maximum of 45 weeks—to eligible seasonal claimants who started a benefit period between August 5, 2018 and September 25, 2021. The parameters of the pilot project, including eligible EI regions, were then temporarily replicated through amendments to the Employment Insurance Act. Most recently, Budget 2023 extended this temporary support for seasonal claimants until October 26, 2024. In addition, in 2022 a legislative fix was introduced to ensure that the timing of the temporary COVID-19 measures would not affect access to the temporary seasonal measure.^{Footnote 46}

In the 13 targeted EI economic regions, there have been 395,093 claims established by seasonal claimants on or after August 5, 2018 which have been completed by March 31, 2023 that were eligible for additional weeks of regular benefits under the seasonal measure. For simplicity, for the rest of this subsection, they are referred to as the eligible claims. Among them, about 27,000 claims were not eligible according to the original conditions of the seasonal measure, but became eligible under the legislative fix. Among the 395,093 eligible claims, a total of 167,288 (42.3%) used at least one additional week of EI regular benefits. This included 11,300 claims (41.8% out of the 27,000 claims) that became eligible under the legislative fix and used at least one additional week of regular benefits.

Among all eligible claims, the proportion that used at least one additional week of benefits under the seasonal measure ranged from 60.7% in the EI region of Yukon to 32.1% in Chicoutimi-Jonquiere (consult Table 29). In addition, half of the eligible claims established by seasonal claimants aged 55 years and over used at least one additional week. Men accounted for almost two-thirds (70.0%) of the eligible claims, but a higher proportion of claims established by women used at least one additional week than men (48.5% and 39.7%, respectively). A smaller proportion of eligible claims established by claimants who had worked in the Construction industry used at least one additional week compared to claimants who had worked in the Accommodation and food services industry.

• Note: Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * Regular claims in this table include claims that were not eligible for the temporary seasonal measure according to the original rules,  but became eligible under the legislative fix introduced in 2022.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 100% sample of EI administrative data.

Among the 167,288 eligible claims that used at least one additional week of benefits, almost all were entitled to have the full 5 extra weeks and almost two thirds (66.4%) received the full additional 5 weeks of EI regular benefits. On average, eligible claims that used at least one additional week of benefits under the temporary support measure (including those that become eligible under the legislative fix) received 4.2 additional weeks of EI regular benefits. Claims eligible under the legislative fix used an average of 4.4 additional weeks of EI regular benefits. The number of additional weeks used was, on average, almost identical for men and women, and across different age groups. Claimants who had worked in services-producing industries used, on average, slightly higher additional weeks of benefits than those who had worked in goods-producing industries (4.3 weeks versus 4.1 weeks).

Seasonal regular claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 that used at least one additional week of benefits under the temporary support measure received, on average, 4.3 additional weeks for a total of 29.3 weeks of EI regular benefits. This is in comparison to 17.1 weeks used by seasonal regular claims in the same 13 EI economic regions that were eligible for additional weeks, but did not use any.^{Footnote 47}

As of March 31, 2023, $296.3 million in additional benefits had been paid to eligible seasonal claimants who used additional weeks of EI regular benefits under Pilot Project No. 21 or the temporary legislative measure for seasonal workers (including $21.7 million paid under the legislative fix) since the pilot project was first introduced August 5, 2018.

Entitlement exhaustion of Employment Insurance regular benefits

Claims established under the first set of Employment Insurance temporary measures

A small proportion of claims completed in 2022‑23 had been established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021 and had a maximum entitlement of 50 weeks. Their entitlement exhaustion rate was 39.9% (consult Table 30) which is noticeably higher than the rate posted by claims also entitled to 50 weeks of regular benefits that were completed in the previous fiscal year (29.6% in 2021‑22). As claims completed in 2022‑23 had longer actual duration on average (32.7 weeks) compared to claims completed in 2021‑22 (30.2 weeks), some of them were more likely to reach the maximum entitlement of 50 weeks.

• Note: Includes completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

During the period examined, the entitlement exhaustion rate varied across regions. The territories and Saskatchewan had the highest entitlement exhaustion rates. Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and British Columbia posted the lowest entitlement exhaustion rates.

By age group, claimants aged 55 years and over were more likely to exhaust their entitlement than younger claimants. Claims established by women had a lower entitlement exhaustion rate compared to those established by men. Occasional claimants tended to exhaust their entitlement more often than long-tenured workers and frequent claimants (consult Table 30).

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021

For claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23, that were entitled between 14 and 45 weeks of regular benefits, the entitlement exhaustion rate was 35.9% (consult Table 31). This result is slightly lower than the rate reported for claims established before March 15, 2020 and completed in 2020-21 (36.9%) ‒ when the same entitlement rules prevailed ‒ that were likely impacted by the substantial economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is higher than the entitlement exhaustion rates observed before the pandemic (33.1% on average over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 period). The higher entitlement exhaustion rate in 2022‑23 could be explained, in part, by the larger share of claims that qualified for EI regular benefits with a low number of hours of insurable employment lowering the average entitlement compared to before the pandemic. This is attributable to the reduced minimum number of hours of insurable employment required to be eligible for EI regular benefits under the second set of EI temporary measures (consult Section 2.1).

• Note: Includes completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Similar to the other claims completed in 2022‑23 that had been established under the first set of EI temporary measures, the entitlement exhaustion rate varied across jurisdictions for claims established on or after September 26, 2021. All provinces and territories registered entitlement exhaustion rates above the national level, except for Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Ontario.

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021 by women had a higher entitlement exhaustion rate compared to claims established by men. This may be due to the fact that, on average, women qualified for fewer weeks of entitlement to EI regular benefits than men (26.6 weeks compared to 28.9 weeks, respectively, consult Table 22). A higher proportion of women work in part-time or temporary jobs than men, and thus accumulate fewer hours of insurable employment on average, resulting in lower entitlement.

By age group, claimants aged 55 and over had the highest entitlement exhaustion rate (43.5%), followed by those aged 24 and under (37.3%). These claimants tend to exhaust their entitlement more often, which may reflect their lower entitlement on average, as well as the challenges they face in securing new employment following a job loss.

By EI claimant category, long-tenured workers had a lower entitlement exhaustion rate than occasional claimants and frequent claimants.

Benefit period exhaustion of Employment Insurance regular benefits

When a claimant’s benefit period ends before all potential weeks of entitlement to EI regular benefits have been paid, the benefit period is considered to have been exhausted. Generally, the benefit period exhaustion rate is lower than the entitlement exhaustion rate.

A small proportion of regular claims completed in 2022‑23 had been established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021. These claims had a maximum entitlement of 50 weeks of EI regular benefits and 38.9% of them exhausted their benefit period (consult Table 30). This result is high compared to previous year (22.8% for claims completed in 2021‑22 that were also entitled 50 weeks of regular benefits). Given the 50 weeks of entitlement and the time between the claims’ establishment and completion, these claims were more likely to exhaust their benefit period.

The share of completed claims in 2022‑23 that were established on or after September 26, 2021 and exhausted their benefit period was 16.2% (consult Table 31). This rate was slightly lower than the ones observed in pre-pandemic fiscal years (18.2% in 2018‑19 and 20.4% in 2019‑20).

Entitlement exhaustion versus benefit period exhaustion

The circumstances that result in benefit period exhaustion are generally different from those associated with entitlement exhaustion. Many variables influence benefit period exhaustion, including regular benefit entitlement, weeks worked while on claim (leading to deferred benefit weeks) and the use of special benefits (adding another type of benefits to the claim).

Example: Entitlement exhaustion versus benefit period exhaustion

David works as a full-time chef at a restaurant in Toronto, Ontario. Due to the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, his restaurant is closed permanently, and he is laid off on October 14, 2022. Following the job separation, David applies for EI regular benefits. After carefully going through his application, Service Canada decides that David is eligible and entitled to receive up to 19 weeks of EI regular benefits based on his accumulated hours of insurable employment during the qualifying period and the regional unemployment rate. Service Canada establishes David’s benefit period (during which benefits may be collected) starting the week of October 23, 2022 for a length of 52 weeks. David starts receiving EI regular benefits in the week staring October 23, 2022.

Scenario: Entitlement exhaustion

David is unable to find suitable employment for the next 19 weeks since starting to receive EI regular benefits. As of March 4, 2023, he has received his full entitlement of 19 weeks of EI regular benefits. In this situation, David is said to have exhausted his regular benefit entitlement as the number of weeks of benefits received equals the entitlement available during the benefit period. This is illustrated below.

Scenario: Benefit period exhaustion

In this scenario, David starts receiving EI regular benefits in the week starting October 23, 2022 and continues for the next 15 weeks until February, 2023. At that point, David decides to switch to parental benefits, as he became a parent on December 30, 2022. David shared his parental benefits with his spouse and received benefits for the next 37 weeks until October 21, 2023. David also found new employment as of October 22, 2023. As David’s benefit period ended before he could collect all 19 weeks of EI regular benefits that he was entitled to, in this case David is said to have exhausted his benefit period. This is illustrated below.

As there were only a small proportion of claims completed in 2022-23 that had been established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021, the comparison between the 2 exhaustion rates focuses only on completed claims established on or after September 26, 2021.

Table 32 outlines different characteristics of completed EI regular claims by exhaustion type in the reporting year. For instance, when completed EI regular claims are categorized by their seasonality status, claims established by seasonal claimants have lower entitlement exhaustion rates than those established by non-seasonal claimants, but this result is reversed when benefit period exhaustion is considered. This means that seasonal claimants were less likely to collect all their entitled weeks of EI regular benefits than non-seasonal claimants. This is most likely due to the timing of their work seasons.^{Footnote 50}

• Note: Includes completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• * Includes only claims with at least one week worked while on claim.
• ** The requalification rate refers to the proportion of claimants who are able to requalify for a new claim within 4 weeks following the termination of their claim.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

In 2022‑23, completed EI regular claims established on or after September 26, 2021 in EI economic regions with lower unemployment rates were generally less likely to exhaust their benefit period compared to claims established in EI regions with higher unemployment rates. Claims established in EI economic regions with unemployment rates between 10.1% and 13.0%, on average had the highest entitlement exhaustion rate (43.8%), while those established in EI economic regions with unemployment rates 13.1% and higher had, on average, the lowest entitlement exhaustion rate (30.3%). Furthermore, a much greater proportion of claims that exhausted the benefit period included at least one week worked while on claim (69.7%) compared with claims that exhausted their entitlement (31.0%). This is likely due to the Working While on Claim provision that allows claimants to defer weeks of entitlement to be used later in the benefit period. Claims that had at least one week worked while on claim and exhausted their benefit period had, on average, a greater number of weeks worked while on claim (19.4 weeks) compared with claims that exhausted their entitlement (11.2 weeks).

Because a larger share of claims that exhausted their benefit period also worked while on claim, claimants who exhausted their benefit period are thus more likely to accumulate enough hours of insurable employment during their benefit period to meet the eligibility requirements to establish a new claim following the end of their claim. As a result, a much greater proportion of claimants who exhausted their benefit period (75.1%) requalified for a new claim within 4 weeks following the termination of their claim compared with completed claims that exhausted their entitlement (10.2%).

In 2022‑23, among completed EI claims combining regular and special benefits, the share that exhausted their benefit period was greater than the share that exhausted their entitlement. In addition, claims that exhausted their benefit period received fewer weeks of EI regular benefits (18.8 weeks on average) compared with claims that exhausted their entitlement (23.0 weeks). Completed EI regular claims that exhausted their benefit period used, on average, just over half (56.9%) of their entitlement (consult Table 32).

Entitlement exhaustion of Employment Insurance regular benefits: seasonal and non-seasonal gappers

Claimants who have exhausted their entitlement weeks may go through a period without income from either employment or EI benefits. These claimants, known as “gappers”, have not accumulated sufficient hours of insurable employment during their qualifying period for their entitlement to cover the entire duration of their unemployment spell.

Starting with the EI Monitoring and Assessment Report for 2017‑18, the definition of gappers was broadened to better represent the levels of EI claimants experiencing periods with no income. To be considered a gapper, a claimant must have established a regular claim during the reporting fiscal year, have completed their previous regular benefit claim during the reporting fiscal year or the previous fiscal year and must have experienced a period without employment income or EI income immediately following the exhaustion of the preceding claim. The period with no income must be 15 weeks or less. While this is more common for seasonal claimants due to their work and EI claiming patterns, it can affect non-seasonal claimants as well.

Of the 1.29 million EI regular claims established in 2022‑23, approximately 75,000 (5.8%) experienced a gap in income based on the gapper definition (consult Table 33). This is comparable to the proportions registered in fiscal years before the pandemic (6.5% in 2018‑19 and 5.5% in 2019‑20), but higher than the one observed in 2021-22 (1.5%). The average length of the gap was 5.2 weeks in 2022‑23, similar to 6.0 weeks recorded in 2021‑22.

• Notes: Includes claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

The incidence of gappers by region shows that all provinces and territories, except Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta registered a share of gappers above the national average (5.8%) (consult Table 33). This is mostly attributable to the composition of the local labour markets.

In 2022‑23, 7.1% of seasonal claimants experienced an income gap compared to 5.3% for non-seasonal claimants. A pilot project for seasonal workers provided up to 5 additional weeks of EI regular benefits – for a maximum of 45 weeks – to eligible seasonal claimants in 13 targeted EI economic regions between August 5, 2018 and September 25, 2021.^{Footnote 51} The Government has since extended this temporary support measure in legislation until October 2024.  Receiving additional weeks of EI regular benefits through the temporary support measure reduces the length of the period without any income. As a result, the proportion of seasonal gappers in the targeted 13 regions (5.7%) in 2022‑23 was lower than the proportion of seasonal gappers in EI economic regions outside the scope of this temporary support measure (7.9%) during the same period.

Number of Employment Insurance regular claims and claimants working while on claim

The use of the WWC provision is reported using 2 different but complementary approaches. The first approach is based on EI claimants who had an open regular claim during the reporting fiscal year, regardless of when their claim was established. This focuses on the WWC activities in the fiscal year under review and therefore better reflects the labour market conditions during the reporting period. The second approach is based on regular claims completed in the reporting fiscal year. This provides a better estimate of the relative incidence of WWC as it takes into consideration the entire duration of the claim and not only a specific period (such as the reporting fiscal year, as done under the first approach).

Of all EI regular benefit claimants who had an open claim in 2022‑23, around 702,700 (39.9% of total) worked at least one week while on claim during the fiscal year (consult Table 34). This share is lower than the levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic (43.0% on average in 2018-19 and 2019-20) and in 2021-22 (45.4%), mostly due to the decrease in the number of claimants who worked at least one week while on claim in the Retail trade and Accommodation and food services industries in 2022‑23. This may be attributed to the large decrease in job vacancies in 2022‑23 in these industries compared to the previous fiscal year that indicates decrease in labour market tightness in these industries.^{Footnote 55} In comparison, based on the second approach, 47.2% of all completed regular claims (close to 710,100) included at least one week worked while on claim in 2022‑23, which is also lower than the previous fiscal year (52.0%) (consult Annex 2.24.4).

• Note: Includes all claimants (or claims) to which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• ^P Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Based on the first approach examining EI regular benefit claimants with an open claim in 2022‑23 who worked at least one week while on claim, more than half (59.4%) had deferred at least one week of EI benefits. Male claimants, those who were from the Atlantic provinces, and older claimants (aged 55 years and over) were more likely to defer weeks of their EI benefits.

The proportion of regular benefit claimants with an open claim who worked at least one week while on claim varies by, among other things, region and industry, which may be partly explained by local labour market conditions in the regions where the claimants resided. Generally, regions that have a higher proportion of seasonal claimants have greater shares of EI regular benefit claimants who worked at least one week while on claim. This may be due in part to seasonal claimants that tend to return to work before their benefit period is exhausted. For example, in 2022‑23, the Atlantic provinces (48.4%) and Quebec (46.0%) had relatively higher share of claimants who worked at least one week while on claim (consult Table 34). In terms of industry, the Educational services industry (61.2%), as well as the Construction industry (44.8%), which had higher proportions of seasonal claimants, had the highest share of claimants who worked at least one week while on claim (consult Chart 16). Similar outcomes are found for completed claims when the second approach is examined.

Text description for Chart 16

Industry	Share of regular Employment Insurance claimants with an open claim working at least one week while on claim
Good-producing industries	42.7%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	36.1%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	38.5%
Utilities	33.8%
Construction	44.8%
Manufacturing	41.7%
Services-producing industries	38.8%
Wholesale trade	26.1%
Retail trade	29.0%
Transportation and warehousing	40.7%
Finance and insurance	19.3%
Real estate, rental and leasing	28.2%
Professional, scientific and technical services	34.6%
Business, building and other support services*	28.9%
Educational services	61.2%
Health care and social assistance	38.0%
Information, culture and recreation**	32.0%
Accommodation and food services	37.9%
Other services (excluding public administration)	33.5%
Public administration	33.3%
All industries	39.9%

• Note: Includes claimants to which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * This industry sector comprises the industries with codes 55 (Management of companies and enterprises) and 56 (Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services).
• ** This industry sector comprises the industries with codes 51 (Information and cultural industries) and 71 (Arts, entertainment and recreation).
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Weeks worked while on claim

This subsection analyzes the proportion and the average number of weeks worked while on claim. It examines whether employment income was reported during a week in which a claimant was entitled to receive EI regular benefits.

The first reported measure is the proportion of weeks worked while on claim among weeks for which claimants were entitled to receive EI regular benefits in the reporting fiscal year (regardless of the establishment date of the claim). It reflects the relative frequency of WWC usage among regular claimants and is indicative of local labour market conditions during the reporting period. The proportion of weeks worked while on claim was 24.0% nationally in 2022‑23, up from the 23.0% observed in the previous year (consult Table 35). It is similar to the levels observed in fiscal years before the pandemic (23.9% on average from 2017‑18 to 2019‑20). This slight increase is likely due to a higher share of seasonal claimants^{Footnote 56} among EI regular claimants working while on claim in 2022‑23, as seasonal claimants tend to have a higher proportion of weeks worked while on claim.

• Note: Changes are based on unrounded numbers. Includes all claims for which at least $1 in EI regular benefit was paid.
• * Data are based on weeks worked while on claim during the reporting fiscal year, regardless of the year in which their claim was established.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

An analysis by demographic characteristics shows that the proportion of weeks worked while on claim varied in the same way as the proportion of claimants who worked at least one week while on claim. Seasonal claimants, women, claimants aged 25 to 44 and 45 to 54 years, and those in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec had higher proportions of weeks worked while on claim as well as proportions of claimants who worked at least one week while on claim than the national average in 2022‑23 (consult Table 34 and Table 35). This trend has been generally consistent with previous years.

The second measure is the average number of weeks worked while on claim for EI regular claims completed during the fiscal year with at least one week of work during the entire claim period. This measure of WWC frequency is based on the entire duration of the claim, rather than a specific reference period. In 2022‑23, the average number of weeks worked while on claim was 11.0 weeks, down from 13.1 weeks recorded in the previous fiscal year (consult Table 36). This level is more comparable to those observed in the fiscal years before the pandemic.

• Note: Changes are based on unrounded numbers. Includes completed claims for which at least $1 in EI regular benefit was paid.
• ^R Revised data.
• ^p Preliminary data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Weekly income associated with working while on claim

As outlined in Table 37, there is a difference between the average weekly income of claimants who worked while on claim and those who did not. For EI regular claims completed in 2022‑23, claimants who worked while on claim had lower average weekly EI regular benefits ($371) for the entire claim period compared to the average weekly EI regular benefit of those who did not work while on claim ($499). However, claimants who worked while on claim had significantly higher average weekly total income ($724) compared to that of those who did not work while on claim ($499). When only the weeks worked were considered, claimants who worked while on claim received an average of $841 per week in 2022‑23 (consult Table 37).

• Note: Includes completed claims for which at least $1 of EI regular benefits was paid.
• * Includes deferred weeks of EI benefits (that have thus $0 of EI benefits paid and high amount of employment earnings). Average incomes for this category are the sum of all regular benefits paid and/or employment earnings divided by the number of weeks the claim was active.
• ** The average weekly employment earnings for this category are total employment earnings divided by the number of weeks worked while on claim.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

Employment Insurance claims from apprentices and amount paid

Two different sets of EI temporary measures were introduced over the past few years. New EI claims established during the first half of 2022‑23 were under the second set of EI temporary measures, whereas new EI claims established during the second half of 2022‑23 were subject to the EI original rules (consult Section 2.1). The number of new EI claims established by apprentices in 2022‑23 was slightly higher than in 2021‑22 (from 42,000 to 46,700) (consult Table 38).

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes all claims from apprentices referred under Section 25 of the Employment Insurance Act for which at least $1 of EI benefits was paid while the claimant was on training.
• * The low number of claims from apprentices in Quebec is due to the unique program design in which apprentices complete all of the technical training prior to beginning on-the-job training.
• X Suppressed for confidentiality purposes.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada. Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

This is in line with an increase in enrollment in apprenticeship programs during the period due to tight labour market conditions in the skilled trades. According to the Registered Apprenticeship Information System, in 2022, the number of new registrations in apprenticeship programs increased (+11.6%) compared to the previous year and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, the number of certifications in the trades slightly decreased (‑0.8%) due in part to the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic.^{Footnote 61}

All provinces (except Quebec), age groups, as well as men and women experienced an increase in EI claims established by apprentices in 2022‑23. As in previous fiscal years, 81.0% of EI claims by apprentices were established in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Men also established the vast majority of claims by apprentices (94.4%). The low proportion of claims by women is largely due to the low share of women registering in most trades’ apprenticeship-training programs (12.0% in 2022).^{Footnote 62}

From an age perspective, claimants between 25 and 44 years old accounted for the largest share of EI claims associated with apprenticeship programs and full-time technical training (53.8%). They were followed by claimants aged 15 to 24 years (43.0%). Claimants aged 45 years and older accounted for 45.7% of all EI regular claims established, but only 3.1% of all EI apprenticeship claims in 2022‑23.

Similar to previous years, claimants from the Construction sector established the majority of the new apprentice claims (61.3%) in 2022‑23 (consult Table 39). From an occupational grouping perspective, the majority of EI apprentices claims were associated with the Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations^{Footnote 63} (91.3%). While apprentice claimants from this occupational group were mainly employed in the Construction sector, they were also found in the Manufacturing, Other services (excluding Public administration) and Retail trade sectors.

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes all claims from apprentices referred under Section 25 of the Employment Insurance Act for which at least $1 of EI benefits was paid while the claimant was on training.
• * Results for 2021‑22 are based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016, whereas results for 2022‑23 are based on the NOC 2021. Given some changes in classification, results are not fully comparable.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada. Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 10% sample of EI administrative data.

The total amount of EI benefits paid to apprentices reached $282.3 million in 2022‑23 (consult Table 38). Almost all regions registered a higher or similar amount of benefits paid to apprentices compared to 2021‑22, except for Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba and the Territories.

Outside of periods of full-time training and during the benefit period of a claim, an apprentice may experience a loss of employment income due to circumstances that may require the apprentice to access other types of EI benefits (for instance, regular benefits for lack of available work or special benefits for care for a newborn child). The claimant may claim those benefits if he or she meets the eligibility requirements for the relevant EI benefits. Of all claims established by apprentices in the reporting fiscal year, 27.1% (or 12,660 claims) contained at least one week of regular benefits paid outside of periods of full-time training. Meanwhile, 1.3% (or 630 claims) contained at least one week of special benefits paid outside of periods of full-time training, including 440 claims for sickness benefits.

Of the total of $282.3 million paid in benefits in 2022‑23, $226.2 million (or 80.1% of the total EI benefits paid to apprentices) were paid while apprentices attended full-time technical training. EI regular benefits paid outside of periods of full-time training accounted for most of the remaining benefits paid to apprentices ($49.6 million, or 17.6%), with a small fraction paid in special benefits ($6.6 million, or 2.3%).

Level and duration of Employment Insurance benefits for apprentices

The average weekly benefit rate for claims established by apprentices was $578 in 2022‑23. This was higher than the average weekly benefit rate for EI regular claims established during the same period ($535). Apprentice claimants from the Territories and Alberta had the highest average weekly benefit rate ($610 and $595, respectively). On average, men ($581) received a higher weekly benefit rate than women ($543), whereas claimants aged between 25 and 44 years ($592) received the highest average weekly benefit rate compared to the 2 other age groups (consult Annex 2.25.3).

The average duration of EI regular claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 by EI claimants while on full-time technical training was 8.6 weeks. Claims in the Territories (10.8 weeks) had the highest average duration, whereas claims in Nova Scotia (7.6 weeks) had the lowest. There were no notable variations in the average duration across genders and age groups in 2022‑23 (consult Annex 2.25.2).

Employment Insurance claims under Skills Boost and amount paid

In 2022‑23, Service Canada gave permission to (or “referred”) 627 claimants to continue receiving EI benefits in order to train under Skills Boost.^{Footnote 65} This is similar to the 623 claimants referred in the previous year (consult Table 40). Out of these 627 claims established under Skills Boost in 2022‑23, 585 (93.3%) contained at least one week of EI regular benefits paid while on training and 420 (67.0%) included at least one week of EI regular benefits paid while not on training.

• Note: Data may not add up to the total due to rounding. Includes claims for which claimants received permission from Service Canada to train.
• ¹ For confidentiality reasons, data for the territories have been included with those for British Columbia.
• ² For confidentiality reasons, data for Utilities industry have been combined with Manufacturing.
• ³ This industry sector comprises the industries with codes 55 (Management of companies and enterprises) and 56 (Administration and support, waste management and remediation services).
• ⁴ This industry sector comprises the industries with codes 51 (Information and cultural industries) and 71 (Arts, entertainment and recreation).
• ⁵ For some claims, this information was not available in the data.
• Source: Employment and Social Development Canada. Employment Insurance (EI) administrative data. Data are based on a 100% sample of EI administrative data.

As in previous years, most of the training referrals by Service Canada were in Ontario (29.0%), Quebec (22.3%) and Alberta (18.3%) in 2022‑23. In comparison, Quebec and Alberta accounted for 29.2% and 9.8% of EI regular claims established in 2022‑23, respectively. Women accounted for half of referrals (51.0%) compared to 41.0% of all EI regular claims established in 2022‑23. Similarly, claimants aged 44 and under established three-quarters (75.6%) of all referrals in 2022‑23, while accounting for 54.3% of EI regular claims during the same period.

From an industry perspective, claimants who previously worked in the Construction sector accounted for the largest share of referrals (14.4%), followed by those from Manufacturing (11.3%) and Wholesale and retail trade sectors (11.2%).

A total of $7.8 million EI regular benefits were paid to claimants under Skills Boost in 2022‑23, slightly lower than the benefits paid in 2021‑22. Of this amount, $5.3 million (68.6% of the total amount) was paid while claimants were on training and $2.3 million (29.0% of the total amount) were paid while claimants were not on training.

Level and duration of Employment Insurance benefits for Skills Boost claims

Claimants with a referral to training by Service Canada had, on average, a weekly benefit rate of $547 in 2022‑23. This is higher than the average weekly EI regular benefits ($535) for EI regular claims established in 2022‑23, but lower than the one entitled to long-tenured workers ($583) during the same period.

Claimants from British Columbia and the Territories had the highest average weekly benefit rate, whereas claimants from the Atlantic provinces had the lowest. On average, the weekly benefit rate for men was higher than for women, as well as for claimants aged between 35 and 44 years compared to the other age groups (consult Annex 2.26.3).

Claims established on or after September 26, 2021 and completed in 2022‑23 by claimants with a referral to training by Service Canada received, on average, 16.5 weeks of EI benefits while on training and 10.9 weeks of EI benefits while looking for a job during their claim period (consult Annex 2.26.2).

Claimants from Saskatchewan received, on average, a higher number of EI weeks while on training (18.5 weeks) than the national level (16.5 weeks). Women also received, on average, more weeks of EI benefits than men while attending full-time training (18.0 weeks versus 15.1 weeks).

Claimants aged between 35 and 44 years received, on average, the highest number of benefits weeks while on training (17.4 weeks), while claimants aged 55 years and over received the most weeks of EI regular benefits while not on training (14.9 weeks).