EI – Workers and residents outside Canada – How much you could receive
3. How much you could receive
The exact amount you receive will be determined once your application is processed. For most people, the basic rate for calculating Employment Insurance (EI) benefits is 55% of their average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount. As of January 1, 2024, the maximum yearly insurable earnings amount is $63,200. This means that you can receive a maximum amount of $668 per week
How benefits are calculated
We will calculate the amount of your weekly benefits based on your total insurable earnings before deductions during the "best weeks" in your qualifying period. Your qualifying period is the shorter of the 52-week period immediately before the start date of your EI claim, or the period since the start of a previous claim. Your best weeks are the weeks that you earned the most money. In regions of Canada with the highest rates of unemployment, we will calculate using the best 14 weeks; in regions of Canada with the lowest rates of unemployment, we will use the best 22 weeks. In other regions, the number of weeks used to calculate benefits will be somewhere between 14 and 22, depending on the unemployment rate in those regions.
The amount of weekly benefits is calculated as follows:
- we calculate your total earnings for the required number of best weeks based on the information you provide and/or your Record of Employment
- we determine the divisor (number of best weeks) that corresponds to your regional rate of unemployment
- we divide your total insurable earnings for your best weeks by the corresponding divisor in the table below to obtain an average
- we then multiply the result by 55% to obtain the amount of your weekly benefits
Divisor used to calculate benefits based on the regional rate of unemployment
| Regional rate of unemployment | Divisor (number of best weeks) |
|---|---|
| 6% or less | 22 |
| 6.1% to 7% | 21 |
| 7.1% to 8% | 20 |
| 8.1% to 9% | 19 |
| 9.1% to 10% | 18 |
| 10.1% to 11% | 17 |
| 11.1% to 12% | 16 |
| 12.1% to 13% | 15 |
| 13.1% or more | 14 |
For how long will I receive EI benefits?
You may receive EI regular benefits for a period ranging from 10 to 36 weeks. The number of weeks you may receive benefits depends on the unemployment rate in your region and on the number of hours of insurable employment that you accumulated during your qualifying period, which is usually the last 52 weeks before the start date of your claim.
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