Labour market and income data guide

Employment insurance statistics

Description: Statistics Canada has the mandate to compile Employment Insurance statistics, which are prepared from the information obtained from Human Resources Development Canada. This activity provides government, businesses, universities and other users with a complete source of information on claims, payments made to individuals and the characteristics of beneficiaries.

Who/what is surveyed: All persons contributing Employment Insurance (EI) premiums (insured population), those who are claiming EI benefits (claimants), and those who are receiving benefits (beneficiaries)

How the data is collected: administrative data provided by Human Resources Development Canada

Geographic detail: Canada, provinces, territories, census divisions, census metropolitan areas, and small areas defined by postal codes

Demographic detail: age and sex

Information collected:
1. claims (initial and renewal) received (by province)
2. disqualifications and disentitlements by reason
3. benefit payments (regular, sickness, training, maternity, and others) and weeks paid
4. beneficiaries by type of benefit (regular, sickness, training, maternity, and others)
5. beneficiaries by sex, age, occupation
6. weeks of insurable employment
7. insurable earnings and weeks on claim
8. hours of insurable employment
9. contributors and their contributions

Frequency: Monthly

Data availability: Summary data start in 1943

Reference period: for beneficiaries, the Labour Force Survey reference week (usually the week including the 15th day of the month); for claims and benefits, the whole month.

Release dates: preliminary data are available 60 days after the reference month, and final data are available 120 days after the reference month

What makes the data valuable:
• timely information
• long time series
• free of sampling errors
• small area data
• presents information complementary to the Labour Force Survey for the purpose of comparison and analysis
• covers all provinces and territories

Products and services:

1. Monthly releases in The Daily .

2. Articles in Perspectives on Labour and Income,Catalogue no. 75-001-XPE, quarterly paper edition and Catalogue no. 75-001-XIE, monthly online edition.

3. CANSIM (Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System), Statistics Canada’s publicly accessible database; for further information, please call: (613) 951-8200

4. Employment Insurance statistics for detailed geographic areas are available on a cost-recovery basis.

Responsible division: Labour Statistics