Highlights

The Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report presents the analysis of the impact and effectiveness of the benefits and other assistance provided under the Employment Insurance Act. The reporting period is the fiscal year starting on April 1, 2023 and ending on March 31, 2024 (referred to as 2023‑24). The highlights below relate to this period or reflect changes between 2022‑23 and 2023‑24.

In 2023-24, Canada experienced a slowdown in economic growth and a significant decrease in inflation, while unprecedented population growth, driven by international migration, had a considerable impact on Canada's labour market.

• The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 1.1% in 2023‑24 compared to 3.6% in 2022‑23 while the consumer price index (CPI) inflation declined from a peak at 8.1% in June 2022 to 2.9% in March 2024
• The Canadian labour market experienced a 3.2% increase in population growth in 2023‑24 and, as a result, had moderate employment growth, a higher national unemployment rate, and slowly easing labour market conditions. The average unemployment rate rose from 5.1% in 2022-23 to 5.6% in 2023‑24
• The average duration of unemployment and the share of long‑term unemployment decreased in 2023‑24 compared to the previous fiscal year and were closer to their pre‑pandemic levels
• After reaching unprecedented levels in the first quarter of 2022‑23, both job vacancies and job vacancy rates continued to steadily decline between the last quarters of 2022-23 and 2023-24, nearing pre-pandemic levels
• At the regional level, all provinces and territories registered employment growth in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23. Moreover, most regions were characterised by rising unemployment rates and decreasing job vacancies, signaling easing labour markets

The number of new EI claims established for regular benefits and the total amount paid for these benefits increased in 2023‑24, compared to 2022‑23 and pre‑pandemic levels.

• In 2023‑24, 1.37 million new EI regular claims were established in Canada. This is higher than the 1.29 million regular claims established in 2022‑23, and in the years before the pandemic (1.30 million in 2017‑18 and 1.29 million in 2018‑19)
  • Conversely, the number of EI regular claims established in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was lower in 2023‑24 compared to 2022‑23
• The total amount paid in EI regular benefits slightly increased to $12.8 billion in 2023‑24 from $12.3 billion in 2022‑23. This increase can be explained in part by the higher number of regular claims established in 2023‑24
• Under the temporary legislated measure for seasonal workers in effect in 13 EI economic regions, 65,500 claims established by eligible seasonal claimants received up to 5 additional weeks of EI regular benefits in 2023‑24. On average, these claims received an additional 4.3 weeks of EI regular benefits during this period
  • From the introduction of the measure in August 2018 to March 31, 2024,^{Footnote 1} 227,700 claims established by eligible seasonal claimants have received additional weeks of EI regular benefits, and a total of $422.2 million in additional benefits have been paid to these claimants. The temporary measure is in place until October 24, 2026
  • In addition, Pilot Project No. 22^{Footnote 2} provided up to 4 additional weeks of benefits on top of the 5 additional weeks available under the existing temporary measure for eligible seasonal claimants in the same regions. Results on Pilot Project No. 22 will be presented in future EI Monitoring and Assessment reports

The eligibility rate for EI regular benefits was slightly higher in 2023 than the year before the pandemic.

• Among unemployed individuals who had contributed EI premiums in the previous 52 weeks and had a valid job separation, 83.1% were eligible to receive EI regular benefits in 2023. This was slightly higher than the pre-pandemic level of 82.4% in 2019
• The eligibility rate for 2023 cannot be compared with the rate for 2020, 2021 or 2022 because of methodological differences
• As in the past, the eligibility rate for men in 2023 (88.6%) was higher than the one for women (76.4%)

The number of new EI claims established for fishing benefits and the total amount paid for these benefits decreased in 2023‑24.

• In 2023‑24, 27,400 new claims for EI fishing benefits were established in Canada. This represents a decrease from 30,400 claims established in 2022‑23, mostly attributable to a significant decline in Newfoundland and Labrador. Overall, 2023‑24 had the lowest number of claims established for fishing benefits in Canada since 2014‑15
• The total amount paid in EI fishing benefits decreased from $372.5 million in 2022‑23 to $354.9 million in 2023‑24

The number of Work‑Sharing agreements and of new Work-Sharing claims established in 2023‑24 increased compared to 2022‑23.

• Participation in the Work‑Sharing program increased from 503 agreements that started in 2022‑23 to 683 in 2023‑24
• The number of EI claims from workers participating in a Work‑Sharing agreement increased significantly, going from 9,959 in 2022‑23 to 17,529 in 2023‑24. The total amount paid also increased, going from $30.6 million in 2022‑23 to $39.5 million in 2023‑24

The number of new EI claims established for EI special benefits and the total amount paid for these benefits increased in 2023‑24.

• The number of new claims established for EI special benefits was 675,757 in 2023‑24, compared to 657,820 in 2022‑23. The largest increases relative to the previous fiscal year were in claims for sickness, parental and maternity benefits
• The total amount paid in EI special benefits increased to $7.8 billion in 2023‑24, compared to $7.0 billion in 2022‑23, driven largely by the increase in the average number of weeks of sickness benefits used
• Claims for EI sickness benefits continued to represent almost two‑thirds of EI special benefit claims in 2023‑24. The maximum number of weeks available for sickness benefits increased from 15 to 26 on December 18, 2022. As a result, in 2023-24, the number of weeks of sickness benefits used was higher for claims entitled to 26 weeks (12.4 weeks on average) compared to claims entitled to 15 weeks (9.0 weeks on average)

In 2023‑24, Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) continued to support individuals and employers across Canada in obtaining skills training and employment support services.

• This year's $2.4 billion investment under the LMDAs permitted more than 820,000 Employment Benefit and Support Measures (EBSM) services for Canadians seeking employment assistance - a 9.2% increase from the previous year. These services included over 192,000 Employment Benefit services and approximately 628,000 Support Measures
• LMDA programs also enhanced the capacity of service delivery organizations and improved labour market information while supporting over 493,000 Canadians, and helping more than 157,000 Canadians return to work within six months of taking an EBSM service. These returns resulted in $909.6 million in savings from unpaid Employment Insurance Part I benefits for a 53.8% reduction in costs. A key success factor was the timely delivery of support: 64.6% of active claimants accessed a service within the first 12 weeks of their benefit period
• The Targeting, Referral and Feedback (TRF) tool has seen continued growth since its rollout in 2021. In 2023-24, the TRF identified and referred 42.9% (approximately 650,000 applicants) of 1.5 million eligible EI Part I applicants to provincial and territorial employment programs, up from 36.8% (516,000 applicants) of the 1.4 million eligible EI Part I applicants during the preceding year. This growth reflects the TRF's increasing role in connecting job seekers with opportunities that support a quicker return to the workforce
• Additionally, $184 million was invested in Pan-Canadian programming, wherein $124 million of that funding empowered Indigenous organizations to deliver another 51,740 services through Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET). These services helped more than 13,200 clients return to work

Building on the work done in previous years, Service Canada continues to improve and enhance its administration of the EI program.

• The Department processed over 3.1 million claims for EI, and, on average, eligible claimants received their first payment within 18 days of filing
• The 2023-24 Client Experience Survey indicates that 77% of EI clients were satisfied with their overall service experience, comparable with last year's 78%
• Building on last year's new Integrated Workload and Workforce project, EI call centre and processing officers are being upskilled and cross trained, optimizing service delivery and providing enhanced service to EI claimants
• As a result of the multi-year strategy to reduce the inventory of claims pending review and improve capacity to meet service standards, the inventory was reduced by half between March 31, 2023, and March 31, 2024
• The EI Emergency Response Benefit post-payment verification is ongoing and will continue as per the Department's operational plan
  • In 2023-24, close to 79,000 reviews were completed, identifying approximately $240 million in savings
• Enhancements to the document upload function mean that EI claimants can now upload almost all supporting documents required by Service Canada for an EI claim to their My Service Canada Account, and usage of the function increases each year
• Improvements are being made to voice-based services as an assistive technology by publishing voice-ready content on Canada.ca and search engine optimization for voice content
• Call centres are working to replace outdated TTY technology to offer a more modern and real-time service for those who use the service
• Enhancements to the Department's social media management system enable it to leverage alternative online channels to connect with Canadians faster, resulting in a 15% increase in EI clients accessing EI pages on Canada.ca