The numbers released today by Statistics Canada show the number of people receiving benefits from the Employment Insurance (EI) program in Alberta increased to 63,770.
That’s a 91% increase since January 2015 and the largest number of beneficiaries since the Great Recession in 2009. This shows the depth of job losses the province has seen in the last year and the severity of the impact of low oil prices. The pain is now spreading to other part of Alberta’s economy as more people are being affected by the downturn.
In Saskatchewan, a similar story is unfolding. The number of people receiving benefits increased from 11,320 in January 2015 to 15,950 – a 40.9% increase since January 2016. The last time Saskatchewan saw this many people receiving benefits from the EI program was in May 2009.
Canada overall isn’t experiencing drastic job losses so this shows just how stark the situation is in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These provinces are driving the numbers for the rest of the country.
Manitoba and British Columbia are benefitting from the diverse nature of their economies and from the improvement in the manufacturing sector.
British Columbia’s EI figures in January decreased 1.2 % from December reflecting the robust growth in employment opportunities in that province. Over the last 12 months, the number of people receiving benefits grew by 6.1% or 3,060 people.
Manitoba has experienced a slight increase of 1.3% in the number of people receiving EI benefits, with the greatest increase occurring in areas outside of Winnipeg. Since January 2015, the number of beneficiaries increased from 13,590 to 15,450 in January 2016, a 13.7% increase since December 2015. The growing number of EI recipients can in part be attributed to industries supplying goods and services to the energy sector, which have been adversely affected in the downturn.
The increase in the number of employment beneficiaries in Alberta and Saskatchewan is likely to continue over 2016, especially with the changes to the EI program in the federal budget released on Tuesday that extended the number of weeks benefits are available in certain parts of the provinces. But these changes may not go far enough for Albertans and Saskatchewanians. It’s short term-relief and not the same as making the program fair for everyone, regardless of where you live. The EI program should not discriminate according to region – Edmonton is excluded from the added benefits, yet EI recipients jumped 2.4 % in the last month alone. If we’re going to have a national employment insurance program, if you pay into the program, you should be entitled to the same benefits – regardless of where you live in Canada.
– Janice Plumstead is a Senior Economist