A new Statistics Canada report has shown that more young people aged 15 to 24 are receiving employment insurance (EI) benefits as unemployment rates rise in Canada. The data revealed that the number of youth receiving benefits increased in February for the fourth consecutive month, with a total of 900 more youth receiving EI compared to the previous month. Over the year leading up to February, the unemployment rate among young men rose to 12 per cent, while it increased to 11.1 per cent among young women. The overall unemployment rate in Canada also rose to 6.1 per cent in March, up from 5.8 per cent in February.
As the labour pool in Canada has quickly grown, employers collectively shed 2,200 jobs in March, with youth aged 15-24 bearing the brunt of the contraction by losing 28,000 jobs during that period. This led to the unemployment rate among young people rising to 12.6 per cent, the highest it had been since September 2016 outside of the pandemic years in 2020-21. The increase in March’s unemployment rate was attributed to an additional 60,000 people looking for work or on temporary layoff in that month, according to StatCan. The agency reported that Canada’s annual population growth reached its fastest rate since 1957 as of January 1, which likely contributed to the increase in job seekers.
Despite the rise in unemployment rates, Statistics Canada’s latest report indicated that the overall number of Canadians receiving EI remained largely unchanged in February. The only significant decline in EI benefits was among men aged 25-54, marking the first decrease since February 2023. The number of EI recipients stayed relatively stable for other demographics, including Canadians aged 55 and above. The agency explained that variations in the number of EI beneficiaries can reflect changes in different groups’ circumstances, such as those becoming beneficiaries, returning to work, exhausting their benefits, or no longer receiving benefits for various reasons.
The number of EI beneficiaries also varied by region, with British Columbia seeing a 2.9 per cent decrease in beneficiaries in February, while Ontario saw an increase of 1.0 per cent. There were minimal changes in other provinces, according to StatCan. In earlier reports, StatCan noted that March’s job losses were most concentrated in industries like food and accommodation services, wholesale and retail trade, and professional, scientific, and technical sectors. However, these losses were partially offset by gains in health care and social assistance industries. Overall, the impact of rising unemployment rates and changes in the job market have been felt across different demographics and regions in Canada.
