Not that the information itself is that surprising, given the unemployment numbers that have already been published, but another interesting question about how well funded the social safety net is funded.
In February, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits increased by 44,300 or 7.8% from January. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan experienced the strongest increases.
Another obvious but interesting point is:
Regional data and data by sex and age on Employment Insurance are not seasonally adjusted and therefore should only be compared on a year-over-year basis.
Between February 2008 and February 2009, there was a larger increase in the number of men receiving regular benefits (+36.7%) compared with women (+20.6%).
More men than women getting on “the dole”? Not sure that is significant, but it does seem to be a topic that the media is harping on, about how this is a “Male Recession”, not sure I buy it, but it is an interesting point.
In previous years the government has used EI overruns as a crutch to help pay off debt, wonder what is going to happen now?
By Metropolitan Area
The Stats Canada report is quite thorough (as usual, but this table really does tweek my interest):
| February 2008 | February 2009p | February 2008 to February 2009 | February 2008 to February 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted for seasonality | ||||
| number | change in number | % change | ||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | ||||
| St. John’s | 5,330 | 6,030 | 700 | 13.1 |
| Nova Scotia | ||||
| Halifax | 5,290 | 6,570 | 1,280 | 24.2 |
| New Brunswick | ||||
| Saint John | 2,330 | 2,560 | 230 | 9.9 |
| Quebec | ||||
| Saguenay | 6,280 | 6,640 | 360 | 5.7 |
| Québec | 12,700 | 15,110 | 2,410 | 19.0 |
| Sherbrooke | 3,750 | 4,560 | 810 | 21.6 |
| Trois-Rivières | 4,380 | 4,790 | 410 | 9.4 |
| Montréal | 62,750 | 74,380 | 11,630 | 18.5 |
| Ottawa–Gatineau, Gatineau part | 3,780 | 4,340 | 560 | 14.8 |
| Ontario | ||||
| Ottawa–Gatineau, Ottawa part | 5,980 | 7,290 | 1,310 | 21.9 |
| Kingston | 1,540 | 1,940 | 400 | 26.0 |
| Oshawa | 5,290 | 6,470 | 1,180 | 22.3 |
| Toronto | 54,460 | 87,440 | 32,980 | 60.6 |
| Hamilton | 7,270 | 13,330 | 6,060 | 83.4 |
| St. Catharines–Niagara | 7,870 | 10,980 | 3,110 | 39.5 |
| Kitchener | 5,240 | 10,270 | 5,030 | 96.0 |
| London | 5,450 | 9,970 | 4,520 | 82.9 |
| Windsor | 5,720 | 11,660 | 5,940 | 103.8 |
| Greater Sudbury | 2,470 | 3,690 | 1,220 | 49.4 |
| Thunder Bay | 2,540 | 2,940 | 400 | 15.7 |
| Manitoba | ||||
| Winnipeg | 5,370 | 7,380 | 2,010 | 37.4 |
| Saskatchewan | ||||
| Regina | 1,220 | 1,350 | 130 | 10.7 |
| Saskatoon | 1,510 | 2,360 | 850 | 56.3 |
| Alberta | ||||
| Calgary | 5,460 | 11,690 | 6,230 | 114.1 |
| Edmonton | 5,540 | 10,880 | 5,340 | 96.4 |
| British Columbia | ||||
| Abbotsford | 2,210 | 3,380 | 1,170 | 52.9 |
| Vancouver | 16,290 | 28,550 | 12,260 | 75.3 |
| Victoria | 1,870 | 3,530 | 1,660 | 88.8 |
You might have guessed that Windsor might be taking a beating as well as around Toronto and such but Calgary is taking a beating too (for claimants at least). Kitchener and Vancouver’s numbers are quite concerning as well.
