Employment Insurance (EI) program statistics

All data is updated weekly and is current as of April 11, 2021

Notes

1. 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
2. Active beneficiaries are individuals currently receiving EI payments
3. 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 April 5, 2021	Cumulative from September 27, 2020
Registered applications	71,910	3,914,450
Processed applications	66,080	3,847,710
Claims established (approved applications)	47,540	3,231,340
Beneficiaries	Not applicable	3,348,690

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	1,970,410	2,637,700
Sickness	102,730	206,870
Fishing	14,650	19,870
Maternity and parental	179,960	285,230
Caregiving benefits and leave	6,760	14,210
Self employed	620	1,000
Emergency Response Benefit (delivered by Service Canada) - ended	1,770	901,400
Total	2,275,680	3,348,690

Notes for table 2

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

EI benefits	Active benefits	Cumulative benefits from September 27, 2020
Regular	18,297.98	21,176.41
Sickness	483.78	904.26
Fishing	141.09	237.60
Maternity and parental	2,346.70	2,431.92
Caregiving benefits and leave	47.60	80.09
Self employed	6.07	6.99
Emergency Response Benefit (delivered by Service Canada) - ended	6.17	454.35
Total	21,329.39	25,291.61

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	9,640	14,800	14,150	17,490	21,250	7,520	84,840
Prince Edward Island	3,740	4,160	3,320	3,480	4,370	2,350	21,420
Nova Scotia	9,270	19,320	14,790	14,570	17,010	6,450	81,410
New Brunswick	14,740	18,280	15,550	16,940	20,900	7,070	93,480
Quebec	64,040	112,580	99,360	91,540	112,980	40,510	521,010
Ontario	114,860	226,240	159,700	130,340	133,890	43,250	808,280
Manitoba	12,300	21,390	14,800	11,150	10,940	3,880	74,460
Saskatchewan	7,840	17,760	12,650	9,070	8,870	3,510	59,700
Alberta	37,890	77,150	61,030	43,940	41,490	13,100	274,610
British Columbia	28,040	68,440	52,440	40,960	43,870	16,000	249,730
Yukon	230	770	570	340	380	150	2,430
Northwest Territories	240	740	530	390	360	100	2,350
Nunavut	180	400	280	220	110	20	1,210
Not applicable	40	300	240	90	50	20	750
Total	303,040	582,320	449,410	380,510	416,470	143,920	2,275,680

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	11.4%	17.4%	16.7%	20.6%	25.0%	8.9%	3.7%
Prince Edward Island	17.4%	19.4%	15.5%	16.2%	20.4%	11.0%	0.9%
Nova Scotia	11.4%	23.7%	18.2%	17.9%	20.9%	7.9%	3.6%
New Brunswick	15.8%	19.6%	16.6%	18.1%	22.4%	7.6%	4.1%
Quebec	12.3%	21.6%	19.1%	17.6%	21.7%	7.8%	22.9%
Ontario	14.2%	28.0%	19.8%	16.1%	16.6%	5.4%	35.5%
Manitoba	16.5%	28.7%	19.9%	15.0%	14.7%	5.2%	3.3%
Saskatchewan	13.1%	29.8%	21.2%	15.2%	14.9%	5.9%	2.6%
Alberta	13.8%	28.1%	22.2%	16.0%	15.1%	4.8%	12.1%
British Columbia	11.2%	27.4%	21.0%	16.4%	17.6%	6.4%	11.0%
Yukon	9.4%	31.6%	23.6%	13.8%	15.7%	6.0%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	10.0%	31.3%	22.4%	16.4%	15.5%	4.4%	0.1%
Nunavut	15.2%	32.8%	23.3%	18.4%	8.7%	1.7%	0.1%
Not applicable	5.1%	40.8%	32.6%	11.5%	7.2%	2.7%	0.0%
Total	13.3%	25.6%	19.7%	16.7%	18.3%	6.3%	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	79.04	132.39	123.45	148.81	188.19	72.65	744.53
Prince Edward Island	38.22	41.01	31.54	31.81	40.75	23.52	206.86
Nova Scotia	83.72	189.43	140.02	125.94	149.94	61.97	751.03
New Brunswick	147.12	168.80	135.17	137.95	174.95	68.10	832.09
Quebec	536.31	926.47	813.98	749.21	957.00	396.53	4,379.49
Ontario	1,011.30	2,290.77	1,622.90	1,180.97	1,228.30	440.78	7,775.02
Manitoba	114.67	218.81	145.36	98.90	98.92	40.11	716.79
Saskatchewan	72.16	187.01	127.39	86.10	85.42	37.02	595.10
Alberta	345.49	808.16	634.52	434.72	423.90	142.69	2,789.48
British Columbia	252.99	695.93	542.70	387.60	421.74	167.48	2,468.45
Yukon	2.19	8.22	6.25	3.36	3.99	1.61	25.61
Northwest Territories	2.39	8.36	6.11	4.33	4.04	1.12	26.34
Nunavut	1.98	4.47	3.11	2.41	1.08	0.22	13.28
Not applicable	0.27	2.02	1.71	0.61	0.53	0.13	5.27
Total	2,687.85	5,681.87	4,334.20	3,392.73	3,778.76	1,453.94	21,329.39

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%	17.8%	16.6%	20.0%	25.3%	9.8%	3.5%
Prince Edward Island	18.5%	19.8%	15.2%	15.4%	19.7%	11.4%	1.0%
Nova Scotia	11.1%	25.2%	18.6%	16.8%	20.0%	8.3%	3.5%
New Brunswick	17.7%	20.3%	16.2%	16.6%	21.0%	8.2%	3.9%
Quebec	12.2%	21.2%	18.6%	17.1%	21.9%	9.1%	20.5%
Ontario	13.0%	29.5%	20.9%	15.2%	15.8%	5.7%	36.5%
Manitoba	16.0%	30.5%	20.3%	13.8%	13.8%	5.6%	3.4%
Saskatchewan	12.1%	31.4%	21.4%	14.5%	14.4%	6.2%	2.8%
Alberta	12.4%	29.0%	22.7%	15.6%	15.2%	5.1%	13.1%
British Columbia	10.2%	28.2%	22.0%	15.7%	17.1%	6.8%	11.6%
Yukon	8.5%	32.1%	24.4%	13.1%	15.6%	6.3%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	9.1%	31.7%	23.2%	16.4%	15.3%	4.2%	0.1%
Nunavut	14.9%	33.7%	23.4%	18.2%	8.1%	1.7%	0.1%
Not applicable	5.2%	38.4%	32.3%	11.6%	10.0%	2.5%	0.0%
Total	12.6%	26.6%	20.3%	15.9%	17.7%	6.8%	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	36,090	48,720	30	84,840
Prince Edward Island	9,360	12,040	20	21,420
Nova Scotia	35,940	45,380	90	81,410
New Brunswick	41,320	52,120	50	93,480
Quebec	206,860	313,870	280	521,010
Ontario	430,070	377,650	560	808,280
Manitoba	36,060	38,340	60	74,460
Saskatchewan	26,820	32,850	40	59,700
Alberta	132,180	142,230	190	274,610
British Columbia	134,010	115,500	220	249,730
Yukon	1,110	1,320	20	2,450
Northwest Territories	1,060	1,290		2,350
Nunavut	560	650		1,210
Not applicable	220	520		740
Total	1,091,660	1,182,470	1,560	2,275,680

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	42.5%	57.4%	0.0%	3.7%
Prince Edward Island	43.7%	56.2%	0.1%	0.9%
Nova Scotia	44.1%	55.7%	0.1%	3.6%
New Brunswick	44.2%	55.8%	0.0%	4.1%
Quebec	39.7%	60.2%	0.1%	22.9%
Ontario	53.2%	46.7%	0.1%	35.5%
Manitoba	48.4%	51.5%	0.1%	3.3%
Saskatchewan	44.9%	55.0%	0.1%	2.6%
Alberta	48.1%	51.8%	0.1%	12.1%
British Columbia	53.7%	46.2%	0.1%	11.0%
Yukon	45.5%	53.7%	0.8%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	45.0%	55.0%	0.0%	0.1%
Nunavut	46.6%	53.4%	0.0%	0.1%
Not applicable	29.8%	70.2%	0.0%	0.0%
Total	48.0%	52.0%	0.1%	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	314.55	429.73	0.25	744.53
Prince Edward Island	91.79	114.85	0.22	206.86
Nova Scotia	347.74	402.44	0.85	751.03
New Brunswick	370.80	460.82	0.46	832.09
Quebec	1,823.21	2,553.75	2.53	4,379.49
Ontario	4,358.31	3,411.28	5.43	7,775.02
Manitoba	367.45	348.72	0.62	716.79
Saskatchewan	282.25	312.48	0.37	595.10
Alberta	1,414.54	1,373.04	1.89	2,789.48
British Columbia	1,386.98	1,079.40	2.08	2,468.45
Yukon	12.52	13.07	0.02	25.61
Northwest Territories	12.27	14.08		26.34
Nunavut	6.54	6.75		13.28
Not applicable	2.27	3.01		5.27
Total	10,791.20	10,523.43	14.72	21,329.39

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	42.2%	57.7%	0.0%	3.5%
Prince Edward Island	44.4%	55.5%	0.1%	1.0%
Nova Scotia	46.3%	53.6%	0.1%	3.5%
New Brunswick	44.6%	55.4%	0.1%	3.9%
Quebec	41.6%	58.3%	0.1%	20.5%
Ontario	56.1%	43.9%	0.1%	36.5%
Manitoba	51.3%	48.7%	0.1%	3.4%
Saskatchewan	47.4%	52.5%	0.1%	2.8%
Alberta	50.7%	49.2%	0.1%	13.1%
British Columbia	56.2%	43.7%	0.1%	11.6%
Yukon	48.9%	51.0%	0.1%	0.1%
Northwest Territories	46.6%	53.4%	0.0%	0.1%
Nunavut	49.2%	50.8%	0.0%	0.1%
Not applicable	43.0%	57.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Total	50.6%	49.3%	0.1%	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