The number of employment insurance beneficiaries down in Quebec

The number of employment insurance beneficiaries in Quebec fell by 4.6% in September 2022, compared to August, a drop also recorded in all the provinces of the country.

In total, 109,730 Quebecers were able to benefit from employment insurance in September 2022, or 5,270 less than in August, according to Statistics Canada data published Thursday. A year earlier, in September 2021, the number of claimants was 282,630 (-61.2%).

In September in Quebec, the largest proportional declines in the number of regular employment insurance beneficiaries regionally were recorded in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Ottawa-Gatineau (-9.6%; – 310), Montreal (-4.5%; -1930) and Sherbrooke (6%; -160).

The CMAs of Québec (-2.6%; -200), Saguenay (-1.5%; -40) and Trois-Rivières (-0.9%; -20) posted the smallest declines.

The number of people receiving EI regular benefits fell in every province across the country in September compared to August. The largest declines were seen in New Brunswick (-19.7%; -7000), Nova Scotia (-11.5%; -3000) and Manitoba (-10.2%; -2000). Ontario (-1.1%; -1000) and Prince Edward Island (-1.2%; -100) posted the smallest declines.

Nationwide, the number of Canadians receiving benefits fell by 27,000 (-5.6%), bringing the total number of claimants down to 455,000. level comparable to that observed in February 2020 (447,000), i.e. before the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted Statistics Canada.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points in September 2022 to 5.2%, due to fewer people looking for work.