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Employment Insurance (EI) program statistics

All data is current as of May 5, 2024.

Notes
  • First-time recipients are individuals receiving an EI payment for the first time since April 1, 2024.
  • Active recipients are individuals currently receiving EI payments
  • Total gross benefit dollars are cumulative since April 1, 2024

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List of tables

Application processing statistics

Table 1: EI application processing statistics
Employment Insurance (EI) program Week starting on April 29, 2024 Cumulative from April 1, 2024
Registered applications 47,820 227,130
Processed applications 44,870 226,120
Claims established (approved applications) 34,100 178,650
Recipients Not applicable 928,920
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 registered in one week may not be 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 recipient is someone who receives at least one payment. To receive EI payments, a recipient must file their bi-weekly report. Each bi-weekly filing enables up to two 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 recipient. As payments are two weeks in arrears, the last completed EI week will never show any recipients
  • This data is operational in nature and will fluctuate over time. For any given week, the number of registered applications and processed applications will not be equal due to timing and volume
  • Cumulative totals are as of April 1, 2024
  • All numbers are rounded to the nearest 10

EI benefits statistics by type

Table 2: EI benefits – Number of recipients by benefit type
EI benefits Active recipients Cumulative recipients since April 1, 2024
Regular 619,980 604,490
Sickness 116,670 103,530
Fishing 12,820 16,300
Maternity and parental 190,900 198,290
Caregiving 6,440 5,470
Self employed 870 880
Total 947,680 928,920
Notes for table 2
  • A recipient is someone who receives at least one payment
  • Recipients can receive more than one type of benefit. For example, a recipient who is receiving EI maternity benefits can change to receive EI caregiving benefits. Regardless of which benefit type a recipient receives, they are only eligible to receive one benefit type per week
  • Active recipients represent individuals currently receiving EI payments
  • Cumulative recipients from April 1 represent individuals who started receiving EI payments since the beginning of the fiscal year
  • All values are rounded to the nearest 10 and are recalculated every week. Rounding may cause a small difference between the total and the sum of individual values
Table 3: EI benefits – Gross benefit paid to recipients by benefit type (millions)
EI benefits Gross benefit paid to active recipients Gross benefit paid to recipients since April 1, 2024
Regular 4,745.50 1,061.14
Sickness 777.04 180.98
Fishing 142.71 31.33
Maternity and parental 2,707.16 428.89
Caregiving 41.78 10.40
Self employed 7.63 1.25
Total 8,421.83 1,714.00
Notes for table 3
  • Gross benefit paid (millions) represents the amount paid, before tax. EI deducts tax at source for all EI benefits. Rounding may cause a small difference between the total and the sum of individual values
  • Active recipients represent individuals currently receiving EI payments and gross benefit paid to active recipients represent the total amount paid to them
  • Cumulative benefit paid to recipients since April 1 represent the amount of EI paid to recipients this fiscal year
  • A recipient is someone who receives at least one payment

EI recipients statistics

Active recipients by province or territory and age group

Table 4: EI active recipients by province or territory and age group – Number of active recipients
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 2,940 6,170 6,640 9,030 12,750 4,720 42,250
Prince Edward Island 1,150 2,180 1,820 1,940 2,600 1,520 11,200
Nova Scotia 2,600 7,900 5,950 5,350 6,960 2,750 31,510
New Brunswick 2,940 7,710 6,640 7,290 10,240 3,860 38,690
Quebec 9,780 31,680 31,740 28,000 34,440 10,990 146,630
Ontario 15,160 82,060 49,580 25,330 26,110 6,910 205,150
Manitoba 2,540 8,140 4,890 2,680 2,710 870 21,820
Saskatchewan 1,860 6,790 3,980 2,280 2,270 980 18,150
Alberta 5,260 25,380 16,590 8,310 7,590 2,110 65,240
British Columbia 4,110 24,060 16,650 7,780 8,470 2,610 63,670
Yukon 50 260 220 90 110 30 770
Northwest Territories 70 280 220 110 90 40 810
Nunavut 60 160 130 60 40 20 480
Not applicable 28,320 93,040 68,590 47,930 48,650 14,810 301,340
Total 76,820 295,820 213,620 146,180 163,030 52,220 947,680

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Table 5: EI active recipients by province or territory and age group – Percentage of active recipients
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 6.9% 14.6% 15.7% 21.4% 30.2% 11.2% 4.5%
Prince Edward Island 10.2% 19.5% 16.2% 17.3% 23.2% 13.5% 1.2%
Nova Scotia 8.2% 25.1% 18.9% 17.0% 22.1% 8.7% 3.3%
New Brunswick 7.6% 19.9% 17.2% 18.8% 26.5% 10.0% 4.1%
Quebec 6.7% 21.6% 21.6% 19.1% 23.5% 7.5% 15.5%
Ontario 7.4% 40.0% 24.2% 12.3% 12.7% 3.4% 21.6%
Manitoba 11.6% 37.3% 22.4% 12.3% 12.4% 4.0% 2.3%
Saskatchewan 10.2% 37.4% 21.9% 12.5% 12.5% 5.4% 1.9%
Alberta 8.1% 38.9% 25.4% 12.7% 11.6% 3.2% 6.9%
British Columbia 6.5% 37.8% 26.1% 12.2% 13.3% 4.1% 6.7%
Yukon 6.2% 34.1% 28.7% 11.8% 14.8% 4.3% 0.1%
Northwest Territories 8.8% 35.2% 27.3% 13.8% 10.5% 4.3% 0.1%
Nunavut 12.4% 34.5% 26.5% 13.5% 8.8% 4.2% 0.1%
Not applicable 9.4% 30.9% 22.8% 15.9% 16.1% 4.9% 31.8%
Total 8.1% 31.2% 22.5% 15.4% 17.2% 5.5% 100.0%

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Table 6: EI gross benefit paid to active recipients by province or territory and age group – Gross benefit paid (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 28.53 70.19 68.85 89.44 126.84 48.91 432.77
Prince Edward Island 11.89 26.68 21.13 21.19 27.42 16.18 124.50
Nova Scotia 23.73 98.18 64.69 51.72 64.20 26.49 329.00
New Brunswick 28.67 90.50 68.23 69.94 97.39 39.26 393.99
Quebec 71.94 244.49 243.43 214.91 272.98 93.58 1,141.33
Ontario 147.98 1,163.09 653.00 239.43 236.62 60.09 2,500.20
Manitoba 24.99 110.52 60.22 26.79 26.61 8.79 257.92
Saskatchewan 20.58 98.14 51.58 24.87 24.65 10.56 230.39
Alberta 57.77 366.60 221.82 88.76 80.75 22.58 838.28
British Columbia 42.23 346.36 225.02 78.28 82.19 25.19 799.28
Yukon 0.49 3.82 2.93 1.11 1.36 0.41 10.12
Northwest Territories 0.88 4.51 3.26 1.54 1.14 0.46 11.79
Nunavut 0.81 2.53 1.94 0.93 0.58 0.11 6.91
Not applicable 115.19 433.22 311.92 209.06 211.28 64.67 1,345.35
Total 575.69 3,058.84 1,998.03 1,117.97 1,254.01 417.29 8,421.83

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Table 7: EI gross benefit paid to active recipients 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 6.6% 16.2% 15.9% 20.7% 29.3% 11.3% 5.1%
Prince Edward Island 9.6% 21.4% 17.0% 17.0% 22.0% 13.0% 1.5%
Nova Scotia 7.2% 29.8% 19.7% 15.7% 19.5% 8.1% 3.9%
New Brunswick 7.3% 23.0% 17.3% 17.8% 24.7% 10.0% 4.7%
Quebec 6.3% 21.4% 21.3% 18.8% 23.9% 8.2% 13.6%
Ontario 5.9% 46.5% 26.1% 9.6% 9.5% 2.4% 29.7%
Manitoba 9.7% 42.8% 23.3% 10.4% 10.3% 3.4% 3.1%
Saskatchewan 8.9% 42.6% 22.4% 10.8% 10.7% 4.6% 2.7%
Alberta 6.9% 43.7% 26.5% 10.6% 9.6% 2.7% 10.0%
British Columbia 5.3% 43.3% 28.2% 9.8% 10.3% 3.2% 9.5%
Yukon 4.8% 37.8% 29.0% 11.0% 13.5% 4.0% 0.1%
Northwest Territories 7.5% 38.2% 27.6% 13.0% 9.7% 3.9% 0.1%
Nunavut 11.8% 36.7% 28.1% 13.4% 8.4% 1.6% 0.1%
Not applicable 8.6% 32.2% 23.2% 15.5% 15.7% 4.8% 16.0%
Total 6.8% 36.3% 23.7% 13.3% 14.9% 5.0% 100.0%

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Active recipients by province or territory and gender

Table 8: EI active recipients by province or territory and gender – Number of active recipients
Provinces and territories Female gender Male gender Total
Newfoundland and Labrador 15,940 26,320 42,250
Prince Edward Island 4,410 6,790 11,200
Nova Scotia 12,860 18,650 31,510
New Brunswick 14,580 24,110 38,690
Quebec 41,200 105,430 146,630
Ontario 114,770 90,370 205,150
Manitoba 10,790 11,030 21,820
Saskatchewan 9,160 8,990 18,150
Alberta 35,560 29,680 65,240
British Columbia 36,760 26,910 63,670
Yukon 410 360 770
Northwest Territories 390 420 810
Nunavut 220 240 460
Not applicable 140,800 160,540 301,340
Total 437,840 509,840 947,680

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Table 9: EI active recipients by province or territory and gender – Percentage of active recipients
Provinces and territories Female gender Male gender Total
Newfoundland and Labrador 37.7% 62.3% 4.5%
Prince Edward Island 39.4% 60.6% 1.2%
Nova Scotia 40.8% 59.2% 3.3%
New Brunswick 37.7% 62.3% 4.1%
Quebec 28.1% 71.9% 15.5%
Ontario 55.9% 44.1% 21.6%
Manitoba 49.5% 50.5% 2.3%
Saskatchewan 50.5% 49.5% 1.9%
Alberta 54.5% 45.5% 6.9%
British Columbia 57.7% 42.3% 6.7%
Yukon 53.7% 46.3% 0.1%
Northwest Territories 47.9% 52.1% 0.1%
Nunavut 47.2% 52.8% 0.0%
Not applicable 46.7% 53.3% 31.8%
Total 46.2% 53.8% 100.0%

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Table 10: EI gross benefit paid to active recipients by province or territory and gender – Gross benefit paid (millions)
Provinces and territories Female gender Male gender Total
Newfoundland and Labrador 163.33 269.44 432.77
Prince Edward Island 49.29 75.20 124.50
Nova Scotia 147.33 181.68 329.00
New Brunswick 149.53 244.46 393.99
Quebec 317.51 823.83 1,141.33
Ontario 1,629.14 871.06 2,500.20
Manitoba 143.77 114.15 257.92
Saskatchewan 129.49 100.89 230.39
Alberta 513.94 324.34 838.28
British Columbia 525.12 274.16 799.28
Yukon 6.03 4.09 10.12
Northwest Territories 6.11 5.69 11.79
Nunavut 3.60 3.31 6.91
Not applicable 629.88 715.47 1,345.35
Total 4,414.07 4,007.76 8,421.83

Notes for tables 4 to 11

Table 11: EI gross benefit paid to active recipients by province or territory and gender – Percentage of gross benefit
Provinces and territories Female gender Male gender Total
Newfoundland and Labrador 37.7% 62.3% 5.1%
Prince Edward Island 39.6% 60.4% 1.5%
Nova Scotia 44.8% 55.2% 3.9%
New Brunswick 38.0% 62.0% 4.7%
Quebec 27.8% 72.2% 13.6%
Ontario 65.2% 34.8% 29.7%
Manitoba 55.7% 44.3% 3.1%
Saskatchewan 56.2% 43.8% 2.7%
Alberta 61.3% 38.7% 10.0%
British Columbia 65.7% 34.3% 9.5%
Yukon 59.6% 40.4% 0.1%
Northwest Territories 51.8% 48.2% 0.1%
Nunavut 52.1% 47.9% 0.1%
Not applicable 46.8% 53.2% 16.0%
Total 52.4% 47.6% 100.0%
Notes for tables 4 to 11
  • A recipient is someone who receives at least one payment
  • All values for number of recipients are rounded to the nearest 10. Rounding may cause a small difference between the total and the sum of the active recipient values
  • Gross benefit paid (millions) represents the gross amount of benefits paid, before tax. EI deducts tax at source for all EI benefits. Rounding may cause a small difference between the total and the sum of individual values
  • Not applicable is used when a recipient 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

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