The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits held steady in January, with 478,000 people collecting benefits — down slightly by 2,000 or 0.4 per cent from December.
The national figure remains close to its recent peak of 496,000 recorded in August 2024, and is up 1.6 per cent compared to January 2024. Ontario posted the largest year-over-year increase, with 11,000 more claimants — a 7.4 per cent jump. That growth was partly offset by declines in other provinces, including British Columbia, where recipients fell by 2,500 or 4.8 per cent.
Employment rose by 76,000 in January, marking a third consecutive monthly gain, according to the Labour Force Survey. The national unemployment rate edged down to 6.6 per cent, its second monthly decline. But compared to a year earlier, the jobless rate was up 0.9 percentage points, and the number of unemployed Canadians who had been laid off rose by 94,000 to 685,000, a 16 per cent increase.
EI trends vary depending on regional and demographic shifts, including return-to-work patterns, exhausted benefits and eligibility rules, which require insured hours and a valid separation from employment.
By age and gender, the most notable monthly drop in EI usage was among men aged 55 and older, down by 1,100 or 1.3 per cent. In contrast, the number of young women aged 15 to 24 receiving benefits edged up by 200, or 1.5 per cent.
Compared to January 2024, more women aged 25 to 54 and 55 and older received regular EI—up 3.9 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively. Young workers, particularly men, saw modest year-over-year declines in benefit usage.
Three provinces saw decreases in January: Newfoundland and Labrador (-900; -3.2 per cent), Alberta (-600; -1.0 per cent) and Saskatchewan (-200; -1.1 per cent). Manitoba recorded a small increase of 200 recipients, or 1.2 per cent. All other provinces showed little change month-over-month.
In Ontario, the year-over-year surge was largely driven by workers aged 25 to 54, including both men (+7.6 per cent) and women (+6.8 per cent). Older men also saw a double-digit increase (+10.6 per cent).
EI claims grew most among those previously employed in business, finance and administration occupations (+4,700; +8.3 per cent) and in natural and applied sciences (+3,300; +10.2 per cent), especially in Ontario. Meanwhile, claims declined among trades, transport and equipment operators (-4,000; -2.4 per cent) and workers in manufacturing and utilities (-1,600; -4.3 per cent).
Special EI provisions under the federal Work-Sharing Program, which helps employers avoid layoffs during temporary slowdowns, remained stable. In January, 7,600 workers received work-sharing benefits, representing 0.8 per cent of all EI recipients. The program saw only a modest change from the previous year.
Temporary flexibility was added to the Work-Sharing Program in March to support workers affected by U.S. tariffs. Most recipients were men (71 per cent), with the majority aged 25 to 54.
