Canadian Unemployment Increases 3% Month-Over-Month in February

Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported on Thursday (4-20-23) that in February, 388,000 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, up by 11,000, or 3%, from January’s total. The February increase was the first monthly increase since July 2022. Although there was an increase in the number regular EI recipients in February, it was the second lowest on record (outside of the period when the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit was in place from March to September 2020), following the record low set in January 2023.

According to the Labor Force Survey, the unemployment rate in Canada held steady at 5.0% in February, just a fraction below the record low of 4.9% that was recorded in June and July 2022.

StatCan notes that in general, variation in the number of beneficiaries can reflect several changes in circumstances, including those becoming beneficiaries, those going back to work, those exhausting their regular benefits, and those no longer receiving benefits for other reasons.