The number of employment insurance recipients in Quebec decreased by 4.6% in September 2022 compared to August, a decrease also recorded in all the country’s provinces.
A total of 109,730 Quebecers were able to benefit from employment insurance in September 2022, or 5,270 fewer than in August, according to Statistics Canada data released Thursday. A year earlier, in September 2021, the number of claimants was 282,630 (-61.2%).
In September in Quebec, the largest proportional decreases 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) had the smallest declines.
The number of people receiving EI regular benefits fell in all provinces across the country in September compared to August. The largest decreases 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) had the smallest declines.
Nationally, 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,” Statistics Canada noted.
The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points in September 2022 to 5.2% due to fewer people looking for work.
