Employment Insurance (EI) program statistics

All data is updated weekly and is current as of October 10, 2021.

Notes

• A first time beneficiary is an individual receiving an EI payment for the first time since the COVID emergency benefits began on March 15, 2020 and that has not received any COVID-19 benefits
• Active beneficiaries are individuals currently receiving EI payments
• Total gross benefit dollars began on September 27, 2020 when the EI program reverted back to pre-CERB operations

On this page

• Application processing
• EI benefits
• Active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group
• Active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender

List of tables

• Table 1: EI application processing
• Table 2: EI benefits – Number of beneficiaries
• Table 3: EI benefits – Gross benefit dollars (millions)
• Table 4: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group – Number of beneficiaries
• Table 5: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group - Percentage of beneficiaries
• Table 6: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group – Gross benefit dollars (millions)
• Table 7: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group – Percentage of gross benefit
• Table 8: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender – Number of beneficiaries
• Table 9: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender - Percentage of beneficiaries
• Table 10: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender – Gross benefit dollars (millions)
• Table 11: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender – Percentage of gross benefit

Application processing

Table 1: EI application processing

Employment Insurance (EI) program	Week starting on October 4, 2021	Cumulative from September 27, 2020
Registered applications	98,400	5,518,660
Processed applications	68,820	5,315,750
Claims established (approved applications)	37,010	4,082,000
Beneficiaries	Not applicable	4,166,780

Notes for table 1

• A registered application removes unnecessary duplicate requests for EI benefits that some individuals submit. It represents actual requests for EI benefits and initiates the process of determining EI eligibility and entitlement
• A processed application represents the adjudication of a registered application that results in an initial decision. Every registered application will be adjudicated; however, high volumes can cause a processing backlog where an application is registered in one week is not processed until a subsequent week
• A claim established is a processed application with a decision to pay the claim as it met the criteria of the EI program. As not all processed applications meet the EI program criteria, the number of claims established will be less than the number of processed applications
• A beneficiary is someone who receives at least 1 payment. To receive EI payments, a beneficiary must file their bi-weekly report. Each bi-weekly filing enables up to 2 weeks of EI payments in arrears depending on the content of the filing. An individual who never files their bi-weekly report will not receive a payment and therefore will not become a beneficiary. As payments are 2 weeks in arrears, the last completed EI week will never show any beneficiaries
• This data is operational in nature and will fluctuate over time. In any given week, the number of registered applications and processed applications will not equal each other due to timing and volume
• Cumulative totals began on September 27, 2020 when the EI program reverted back to pre-CERB operations and the new Canada Recovery Benefits started
• All numbers are rounded to the nearest 10

EI benefits

Table 2: EI benefits – Number of beneficiaries

EI benefits	Active benefits	Cumulative benefits from September 27, 2020
Regular	802,020	3,196,390
Sickness	89,250	363,730
Fishing	12,070	20,980
Maternity and parental	187,250	410,210
Caregiving benefits and leave	6,290	24,270
Self employed	700	1,530
Emergency Response Benefit (delivered by Service Canada) - ended	0	901,460
Total	1,097,530	4,166,780

Notes for table 2

Table 3: EI benefits – Gross benefit dollars (millions)

EI benefits	Active benefits	Cumulative benefits from September 27, 2020
Regular	9,330.23	40,535.13
Sickness	492.80	1,931.71
Fishing	101.01	386.31
Maternity and parental	2,554.53	5,085.03
Caregiving benefits and leave	45.79	166.82
Self employed	7.48	15.23
Emergency Response Benefit (delivered by Service Canada) - ended	0	456.50
Total	12,531.85	48,576.72

Notes for table 2 and 3

• A beneficiary is someone who receives at least 1 payment
• Active benefits represent individuals currently receiving EI payments. The corresponding gross benefit dollars represent all gross dollars paid over the life of the claim
• Beneficiaries can move between EI benefits over time. For example, a beneficiary who is on maternity could move to caregiving benefits for the next benefit period to care for a family member. Regardless of which benefit a beneficiary moves to, they are only eligible to receive one EI benefit type per period. As a result, all values are recalculated every period
• All values for number of beneficiaries are rounded to the nearest 10
• Gross benefit dollars (millions) represents the gross amount paid, rounded to the nearest thousand. These amounts do not include tax withholds. EI withholds tax at source for all EI benefits except for the emergency response benefit

Active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group

Table 4: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group – Number of beneficiaries

Provinces and territories	Under 25	25 to 34 years	35 to 44 years	45 to 54 years	55 to 64 years	65 and older	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	5,960	8,840	8,350	10,040	13,270	5,290	51,750
Prince Edward Island	1,660	2,580	1,860	1,720	2,150	1,240	11,200
Nova Scotia	5,820	12,240	8,650	7,840	9,100	3,480	47,120
New Brunswick	7,820	11,270	8,650	8,950	11,550	4,080	52,330
Quebec	21,930	49,650	46,700	42,090	52,010	18,200	230,590
Ontario	39,570	127,010	85,360	57,830	58,200	16,800	384,770
Manitoba	5,360	13,110	8,500	5,540	4,820	1,470	38,810
Saskatchewan	3,770	11,040	6,750	3,940	3,540	1,320	30,360
Alberta	13,930	41,250	29,180	17,260	15,920	4,570	122,110
British Columbia	11,120	40,460	30,000	18,040	18,610	6,090	124,330
Yukon	100	420	310	140	150	60	1,170
Northwest Territories	170	510	320	220	190	40	1,440
Nunavut	170	370	220	180	90	20	1,060
Not applicable	20	210	190	50	30	20	520
Total	117,410	318,960	235,020	173,840	189,620	62,680	1,097,530

Notes for table 4

Table 5: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group - Percentage of beneficiaries

Provinces and territories	Under 25	25 to 34 years	35 to 44 years	45 to 54 years	55 to 64 years	65 and older	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	11.5%	17.1%	16.1%	19.4%	25.6%	10.2%	4.7%
Prince Edward Island	14.8%	23.0%	16.6%	15.3%	19.2%	11.0%	1.0%
Nova Scotia	12.4%	26.0%	18.4%	16.6%	19.3%	7.4%	4.3%
New Brunswick	14.9%	21.5%	16.5%	17.1%	22.1%	7.8%	4.8%
Quebec	9.5%	21.5%	20.3%	18.3%	22.6%	7.9%	21.0%
Ontario	10.3%	33.0%	22.2%	15.0%	15.1%	4.4%	35.1%
Manitoba	13.8%	33.8%	21.9%	14.3%	12.4%	3.8%	3.5%
Saskatchewan	12.4%	36.4%	22.2%	13.0%	11.7%	4.4%	2.8%
Alberta	11.4%	33.8%	23.9%	14.1%	13.0%	3.7%	11.1%
British Columbia	8.9%	32.5%	24.1%	14.5%	15.0%	4.9%	11.3%
Yukon	8.3%	35.9%	26.5%	11.5%	12.9%	4.9%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	11.5%	35.1%	22.2%	15.1%	13.3%	2.9%	0.1%
Nunavut	16.4%	35.3%	20.8%	17.1%	8.3%	2.1%	0.1%
Not applicable	4.3%	40.7%	36.2%	10.1%	4.8%	3.9%	0.0%
Total	10.7%	29.1%	21.4%	15.8%	17.3%	5.7%	100.0%

Notes for table 5

Table 6: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group – Gross benefit dollars (millions)

Provinces and territories	Under 25	25 to 34 years	35 to 44 years	45 to 54 years	55 to 64 years	65 and older	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	65.33	108.85	98.66	115.50	158.70	69.13	616.16
Prince Edward Island	14.50	29.65	20.64	18.07	22.96	15.83	121.66
Nova Scotia	60.64	145.43	98.35	83.16	98.69	42.47	528.74
New Brunswick	69.13	130.08	96.29	95.98	127.38	53.48	572.33
Quebec	231.70	481.65	450.45	401.06	530.69	231.60	2,327.16
Ontario	482.25	1,563.82	1,031.64	617.51	634.26	210.18	4,539.66
Manitoba	62.03	159.87	98.11	57.30	52.24	19.50	449.05
Saskatchewan	42.03	137.85	81.69	44.54	42.13	18.04	366.28
Alberta	169.67	532.07	364.54	203.96	200.59	63.18	1,534.03
British Columbia	119.24	480.69	350.45	190.08	206.32	78.30	1,425.07
Yukon	1.09	5.48	4.02	1.75	2.14	0.91	15.38
Northwest Territories	1.91	6.51	4.27	3.09	2.58	0.61	18.96
Nunavut	2.08	4.53	2.67	2.40	1.15	0.30	13.13
Not applicable	0.22	1.68	1.56	0.42	0.23	0.11	4.22
Total	1,321.82	3,788.17	2,703.32	1,834.83	2,080.07	803.63	12,531.85

Notes for table 6

Table 7: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and age group – Percentage of gross benefit

Provinces and territories	Under 25	25 to 34 years	35 to 44 years	45 to 54 years	55 to 64 years	65 and older	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	10.6%	17.7%	16.0%	18.7%	25.8%	11.2%	4.9%
Prince Edward Island	11.9%	24.4%	17.0%	14.9%	18.9%	13.0%	1.0%
Nova Scotia	11.5%	27.5%	18.6%	15.7%	18.7%	8.0%	4.2%
New Brunswick	12.1%	22.7%	16.8%	16.8%	22.3%	9.3%	4.6%
Quebec	10.0%	20.7%	19.4%	17.2%	22.8%	10.0%	18.6%
Ontario	10.6%	34.4%	22.7%	13.6%	14.0%	4.6%	36.2%
Manitoba	13.8%	35.6%	21.8%	12.8%	11.6%	4.3%	3.6%
Saskatchewan	11.5%	37.6%	22.3%	12.2%	11.5%	4.9%	2.9%
Alberta	11.1%	34.7%	23.8%	13.3%	13.1%	4.1%	12.2%
British Columbia	8.4%	33.7%	24.6%	13.3%	14.5%	5.5%	11.4%
Yukon	7.1%	35.6%	26.1%	11.4%	13.9%	5.9%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	10.1%	34.3%	22.5%	16.3%	13.6%	3.2%	0.2%
Nunavut	15.9%	34.5%	20.4%	18.3%	8.7%	2.3%	0.1%
Not applicable	5.3%	39.9%	36.9%	9.9%	5.5%	2.6%	0.0%
Total	10.5%	30.2%	21.6%	14.6%	16.6%	6.4%	100.0%

Notes for table 7

Active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender

Table 8: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender – Number of beneficiaries

Provinces and territories	Female gender	Male gender	Gender diverse	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	22,610	29,140	20	51,760
Prince Edward Island	5,440	5,750	20	11,210
Nova Scotia	22,630	24,470	20	47,120
New Brunswick	25,240	27,070	20	52,340
Quebec	97,340	133,200	50	230,590
Ontario	231,450	153,200	110	384,770
Manitoba	22,630	16,170	20	38,820
Saskatchewan	17,490	12,870	20	30,380
Alberta	70,480	51,590	50	122,110
British Columbia	75,160	49,140	40	124,330
Yukon	670	510		1,170
Northwest Territories	800	640		1,440
Nunavut	570	490		1,060
Not applicable	180	320		510
Total	592,670	504,560	370	1,097,530

Notes for table 8

Table 9: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender - Percentage of beneficiaries

Provinces and territories	Female gender	Male gender	Gender diverse	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	43.7%	56.3%	0.0%	4.7%
Prince Edward Island	48.5%	51.3%	0.2%	1.0%
Nova Scotia	48.0%	51.9%	0.0%	4.3%
New Brunswick	48.2%	51.7%	0.0%	4.8%
Quebec	42.2%	57.8%	0.0%	21.0%
Ontario	60.2%	39.8%	0.0%	35.1%
Manitoba	58.3%	41.7%	0.1%	3.5%
Saskatchewan	57.6%	42.4%	0.1%	2.8%
Alberta	57.7%	42.2%	0.0%	11.1%
British Columbia	60.4%	39.5%	0.0%	11.3%
Yukon	56.8%	43.2%	0.0%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	55.4%	44.6%	0.0%	0.1%
Nunavut	54.1%	45.9%	0.0%	0.1%
Not applicable	36.0%	64.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Total	54.0%	46.0%	0.0%	100.0%

Notes for table 9

Table 10: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender – Gross benefit dollars (millions)

Provinces and territories	Female gender	Male gender	Gender diverse	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	262.26	353.75	0.14	616.16
Prince Edward Island	57.57	63.98	0.12	121.66
Nova Scotia	252.54	275.83	0.36	528.74
New Brunswick	260.40	311.77	0.16	572.33
Quebec	943.09	1,383.17	0.90	2,327.16
Ontario	2,786.03	1,751.66	1.97	4,539.66
Manitoba	264.93	183.92	0.20	449.05
Saskatchewan	207.09	159.11	0.07	366.28
Alberta	885.81	647.41	0.81	1,534.03
British Columbia	875.54	548.89	0.65	1,425.07
Yukon	8.69	6.69		15.38
Northwest Territories	10.26	8.70		18.96
Nunavut	6.60	6.53		13.13
Not applicable	2.15	2.07		4.22
Total	6,822.98	5,703.49	5.38	12,531.85

Notes for table 10

Table 11: EI active beneficiaries by province or territory and gender – Percentage of gross benefit

Provinces and territories	Female gender	Male gender	Gender diverse	Total
Newfoundland and Labrador	42.6%	57.4%	0.0%	4.9%
Prince Edward Island	47.3%	52.6%	0.1%	1.0%
Nova Scotia	47.8%	52.2%	0.1%	4.2%
New Brunswick	45.5%	54.5%	0.0%	4.6%
Quebec	40.5%	59.4%	0.0%	18.6%
Ontario	61.4%	38.6%	0.0%	36.2%
Manitoba	59.0%	41.0%	0.0%	3.6%
Saskatchewan	56.5%	43.4%	0.0%	2.9%
Alberta	57.7%	42.2%	0.1%	12.2%
British Columbia	61.4%	38.5%	0.0%	11.4%
Yukon	56.5%	43.5%	0.0%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	54.1%	45.9%	0.0%	0.2%
Nunavut	50.2%	49.8%	0.0%	0.1%
Not applicable	51.0%	49.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Total	54.4%	45.5%	0.0%	100.0%

Notes for tables 4 to 11 inclusively

• A beneficiary is someone who receives at least 1 payment
• All values for number of beneficiaries are rounded to the nearest 10. Rounding may cause a small difference between the total and the sum of the active beneficiary values
• Gross benefit dollars (millions) represents the gross amount paid, rounded to the nearest thousand. These amounts do not include tax withhold. EI withholds tax at source for all EI benefits except for the emergency response benefit. Rounding may cause a small difference between the total and the sum of individual values
• The column 'Gender diverse' represents beneficiaries whose gender is either non-binary or not disclosed
• Not applicable is used when a beneficiary provides an address outside of Canada. While the EI program requires individuals to reside inside Canada to qualify, some individuals may be currently out of the country on a temporary basis, or working in Canada on a temporary basis. For example:
  • a student who is temporarily abroad
  • someone temporarily working abroad, or
  • temporary worker who has fallen ill but their home address is in another country