February sees unchanged national EI numbers, with youth upticks and regional declines in British Columbia
In February, the number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits remained steady at 471,000, continuing the stability observed in recent months following a net increase from April to July 2023.
According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the unemployment rate has held at 5.8 percent for three of the four months leading up to February, following a rise from 5.1 percent in April to 5.8 percent in November 2023.
This indicates a period of labour market stability after a notable increase in unemployment rates.
February saw a rise in the number of youth (aged 15 to 24) receiving regular EI benefits, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase with 900 additional recipients (+2.0 percent).
This increase was more pronounced among young women (+500; +3.5 percent) than young men (+400; +1.4 percent). Over the past 12 months, young men have seen a more significant rise in regular EI recipients (+8,400; +34.4 percent) compared to young women (+2,600; +24.3 percent).
Correspondingly, the unemployment rates for young men and women increased by 1.2 and 1.8 percentage points, reaching 12.0 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.
For core-aged men (25 to 54 years old), February marked the first significant decline in regular EI benefits since February 2023, with a decrease of 3,400 recipients (-1.8 percent).
In contrast, core-aged women saw an increase of 1,800 recipients (+1.6 percent) in February 2024. Year-over-year data show increases in regular EI recipients among both core-aged men (+37,000; +25.2 percent) and women (+16,000; +16.3 percent).
Older Canadians (aged 55 and over) experienced slight change in regular EI benefits in February, continuing the trend from the previous month.
However, on a year-over-year basis, there were 11,000 (+15.2 percent) more older men and 3,900 (+9.0 percent) more older women receiving regular EI benefits.
Regionally, the number of regular EI beneficiaries in British Columbia decreased by 1,500 (-2.9 percent) in February, with reductions observed among core-aged men, older men, and older women.
The Vancouver census metropolitan area also saw a decrease in regular EI recipients (-900; -3.9 percent). In contrast, Ontario experienced an increase of 1,400 regular EI recipients (+1.0 percent) in February, continuing a growth trend that began in December 2022.
The largest provincial increase was among men aged 55 and older, with additional smaller increases among youth and core-aged women. The Toronto area saw the most significant rise in regular EI recipients, while Hamilton experienced the largest decrease.
