Employment Insurance, November 2020
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Released: 2021-01-21
Statistics for November on Employment Insurance (EI) reflect labour market conditions as of the week of November 8 to 14.
In September and October, many provinces implemented targeted public health measures in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases. In early November, restrictions related to indoor dining and fitness facilities were eased in Ontario, while new measures were adopted in Manitoba, affecting restaurants, recreation facilities and retail businesses. Much of Quebec was faced with the ongoing closure of indoor dining and many recreational and cultural facilities.
Regular EI beneficiaries down slightly from record number in October
In November, 1.3 million Canadians received regular EI benefits, down 3.4% from a record 1.4 million in October. According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a total of 1.7 million Canadians were unemployed during the week of November 8 to 14. The vast majority of the unemployed (1.5 million) were looking for work, while 253,000 still had a connection to a job, either because they were on temporary layoff or had arrangements to begin a new job in the near future.
Infographic 1
Regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries down slightly from record number in October
More than 1 in 10 regular EI beneficiaries qualified for EI as a result of the new rules
In November, 12.4% of all regular EI beneficiaries qualified for EI as a result of temporary changes to eligibility rules introduced to the EI program in September 2020, up from 11.2% in October (not seasonally adjusted). The proportion of regular EI beneficiaries qualifying under the new rules increased in every province, led by Newfoundland and Labrador (+2.5 percentage points) and Prince Edward Island (+2.1 percentage points).
Chart 1
The proportion of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries qualifying under the new rules increases in every province (not seasonally adjusted)
The number of regular EI beneficiaries decreases in seven provinces
The number of regular EI beneficiaries declined in seven provinces in November, led by British Columbia (-20,000; -11.3%) and Alberta (-19,000; -9.4%). According to the LFS, employment grew by 24,000 (+1.0%) in British Columbia in November, while it was little changed in Alberta. At the same time, Ontario (+4,100; +0.9%), Quebec (+5,400; +1.9%) and Manitoba (+3,800; +9.6%) recorded increases in the number of EI recipients. Results from the November LFS indicate that, amidst tightening of public health measures, employment growth continued to slow in Central Canada, while employment declined in Manitoba.
On a regional basis, the number of EI beneficiaries decreased proportionally more in census agglomerations (CAs) (-16,000; -9.3%) and in regions outside census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and CAs (-17,000; -6.6%) than in CMAs (-14,000; -1.5%).
Accommodation and food services account for largest share of regular EI beneficiaries
In November, 75.3% of regular EI recipients last worked in the services-producing sector, compared with 59.5% in the same month a year ago (not seasonally adjusted). The industry hardest hit by public health measures—accommodation and food services—accounted for 18.5% of regular EI beneficiaries in November, up from 7.0% in November 2019. November LFS results showed a second consecutive monthly decline in employment in accommodation and food services, and employment in this industry remained farthest from pre-COVID February levels.
Chart 2
Largest proportion of regular EI beneficiaries in accommodation and food services (not seasonally adjusted)
Number of regular EI beneficiaries decreases significantly more among women than men
The number of women receiving regular EI benefits fell by 38,000 (-5.7%) in November—a decrease that is almost five times greater than the decline among men (-8,000; -1.2%). The decrease in the number of regular EI recipients among women was driven by those aged 25 to 54 years (-16,000; -4.0%) and those aged 55 years and older (-16,000; -8.8%). Women accounted for 48.7% of all regular EI beneficiaries in November, a proportion that is notably higher than that of 37.3% recorded in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Male youth (aged 15 to 24) were the only age group to show an increase in the number of regular EI recipients in November (+2,000; +2.4%).
Looking ahead
In November, a little more than 8 in 10 (82.3%) regular EI recipients had also been EI recipients the previous month. This contrasts with November 2019, when 6 in 10 (60.7%) regular beneficiaries had received EI the month prior. According to the LFS, approximately 6 in 10 unemployed in October remained unemployed in November and one-quarter (25.6%) of all unemployed in November had been continuously out of work for 27 weeks or more.
Going forward, EI statistics will continue to contribute to a better understanding of the ability of workers to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, as additional public health measures are being implemented in the second wave of the pandemic.
Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
Employment Insurance statistics are an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goal:
Note to readers
Employment Insurance in the context of broader COVID-19 benefit programs
No methodological changes were made to the Employment Insurance Statistics (EIS) program over the COVID-19 period. EIS reflect the Employment Insurance program for the Labour Force Survey (LFS) reference week in each month.
Data for the November 2020 reference period and onward consist of individuals who obtained EI benefits, and exclude beneficiaries of the Canada Recovery Benefits (Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), and Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)).
Concepts and methodology
The analysis presented here focuses on people who received regular EI benefits related to job loss. Claims data pertain to initial and renewal claims received for any type of EI benefits, including special benefits.
EI statistics are produced from administrative data sources provided by Service Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. These statistics may, from time to time, be affected by changes to the Employment Insurance Act or administrative procedures.
Regular EI benefits are paid to eligible individuals who lose their jobs and who are available for and able to work, but cannot find a job. To receive EI benefits, individuals must first submit a claim.
EI statistics indicate the number of people who received EI benefits, and should not be confused with LFS data, which provide estimates of the total number of unemployed people. There is always a certain proportion of unemployed people who do not qualify for benefits. Some unemployed people have not contributed to the program because they have not worked in the past 12 months or their employment was not insured. Other unemployed people have contributed to the program but do not meet the eligibility criteria, such as workers who left their jobs voluntarily or those who did not accumulate enough hours of work to receive benefits.
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted, unless otherwise specified. Values for all series from March to November 2020 have been treated as outliers in the determination of a seasonal pattern for seasonal adjustment. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Numbers in the Daily text are rounded to the nearest thousand.
The number of regular EI beneficiaries and the number of claims received for the current month and the previous month are subject to revision.
The number of beneficiaries is a measure of all people who received regular EI benefits from November 8 to 14. This period coincides with the reference week of the LFS. However, claims data are for the entire month.
New indicators introduced in October 2020
1. Beneficiaries who qualified for EI under the new EI rules introduced in September 2020
Temporary changes to the EI program that provided all new regular EI beneficiaries with a one-time credit of 300 insurable hours were introduced on September 27, 2020. In addition, the unemployment rate used to calculate their eligibility and entitlement weeks was 13.1%, unless their region's unemployment rate was higher.
This supplementary indicator presents the number of individuals that only qualified for EI as a result of these program changes.
2. Beneficiaries who have not made a previous paid claim within the last five years
The indicator of whether a beneficiary has made a previous paid claim in the past five years is based only on claims for EI. Whether or not the beneficiary received CERB payments between March and September 2020 is not used in the calculation of this indicator.
3. EI beneficiaries by industry
The industry of EI beneficiaries is determined through the integration of EI and Record of Employment (ROE) administrative data. For beneficiaries with more than one record of employment in the past 52 weeks, the records with the greatest number of hours are used. If no industry information can be found, industry information is deemed "Not classified" for the beneficiary.
Geographical definitions
A census metropolitan area (CMA) or census agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centered on a population centre. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000. A CA must have a population of at least 10,000. See Standard Geographical Classification 2016 – definitions for more information.
Data availability
A number of CODR data tables published on the Statistics Canada website remain suspended with the release of the November 2020 data.
14-10-0336 and 14-10-0337: remain suspended, as of the December 2019 reference period, due to occupational coding issues from the source data file. Work is on-going to identify a solution and continue publication of the tables.
14-10-0004, 14-10-0005, 14-10-0007, and 14-10-0008: remain suspended, as of the March 2020 reference period, due to a source data file containing records for CERB claimants and beneficiaries that could not be identified and excluded through processing.
14-10-0009: for the March to September reference periods, sub-aggregates of the parent "regular benefits" benefit type have been suppressed due to data quality.
Next release
Data on EI for December 2020 will be released on February 18, 2021.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of Employment Insurance statistics is available in the Guide to Employment Insurance Statistics (73-506-G).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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