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March 24, 2022EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, JANUARY 2022 From March to September 2020, Statistics Canada suspended publication of employment insurance (EI) statistics. Canadians were eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during this period. Data for the period from March to September 2020 shows how an initial rise in EI claims at the start of the pandemic was reversed as new EI applicants were directed to CERB instead. After September 27, 2020 there was a temporary expansion of EI and CERB recipients were transitioned back to EI. Temporary changes, including a reduction in the number of insurable hours required for eligibility, ended in September 2021.
The information released today for January 2022 reflects the period of January 9 to 15. The spread of the Omicron variant led to stricter public health measures in many jurisdictions, particularly relevant for retail, restaurants, bars, concert halls and gyms.
In January, there were 31,320 Nova Scotians in receipt of regular EI (seasonally adjusted) benefits. Nova Scotia's seasonally adjusted regular EI usage declined by 1,200 (-3.7%) from December to January.
There were 633,130 Canadians that received regular EI benefits in January (seasonally adjusted), a decrease of 2,610(-0.4%) from December. Eight provinces reported declines in regular beneficiaries while Quebec (+6.2%) and Prince Edward Island (+1.9%) had increases this month.
As a percentage of the labour force, employment insurance beneficiaries reflect 6.2% of the labour force in Nova Scotia in January 2022. Nationally, the share of beneficiaries was 3.1% of the labour force. Employment insurance beneficiaries reflect a larger share of the labour force in Atlantic Canada. All provinces reported higher EI proportions than February 2020.
When compared to February 2020, EI usage has increased 41.9% across Canada as of January 2022. In Nova Scotia, EI usage was up 22.9% compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark. The largest percentage increases in EI usage were in Ontario and Quebec. The smallest increases in EI usage were reported in Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.
By age and sex cohort, the increase in EI usage has been notably higher among women since the onset of the pandemic (Jan 2022 vs Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted). The industries whose employment was most affected by public health restrictions and other pandemic precautions had a disproportionate share of female employment.
In January 2022, EI beneficiaries reflect a larger share of the labour force for males and for those aged 55 and over.
All occupational categories, except trades &transportation, saw increases in EI usage in Nova Scotia for January 2022 compared to January 2020. Sales and service occupations has the largest increase in usage compared to before the pandemic.
Among counties (comparing unadjusted results for January 2022 with January 2020), EI usage increased the fastest in Halifax, Yarmouth, and Queens counties. EI usage is lower in Inverness and unchanged in Guysborough.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0011-01 Employment insurance beneficiaries (regular benefits) by province and territory, monthly, seasonally adjusted
Table 14-10-0323-01 Employment insurance beneficiaries by census division, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
Table 14-10-0337-01 Employment insurance beneficiaries (regular benefits) by province, territory and occupation, monthly, seasonally adjusted
Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months
Table 14-10-0343-01 Employment Insurance beneficiaries by economic region, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
Table 14-10-0387-01 Labour force characteristics, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality, last 5 months
Table 14-10-0344-01 Employment Insurance beneficiaries (regular benefits) by economic region, monthly, seasonally adjusted
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