Information Sheet - Increased Weeks of Employment Insurance Benefits

What's New

A pilot project to increase Employment Insurance (EI) benefit entitlement in regions of high unemployment begins on June 6, 2004.

This project will assess the labour market impacts of providing five additional weeks of benefits to EI claimants. The project also aims to improve the responsiveness of the EI program to the employment challenges faced by workers employed in part-time, seasonal, and other non-standard employment.

Project Details

The two-year pilot project will provide an additional five weeks of EI regular benefits to address the annual income gaps experienced by workers in non-standard employment situations.

The pilot project will be tested in 24 EI economic regions where the unemployment rate was 10 per cent or more in at least one month in the six (6) month period ending on May 8, 2004.

Regular claimants who reside in regions of high unemployment (see attached list) and who start a claim between between June 6, 2004 and June 4, 2006 will participate in the pilot project. The pilot project applies to regular benefits only, and not to self-employed fishing, maternity, parental, sickness or compassionate care benefits.

The purpose of the project is to help workers in areas where the lack of available employment limits their ability to obtain enough work to qualify for sufficient EI benefits to cover their annual periods of unemployment. Under the pilot project, the maximum EI entitlement period will remain at 45 weeks of regular benefits (including the additional five weeks).

Following the conclusion of the pilot project an evaluation will be undertaken to assess what impact this increase in benefits has on the labour market and work incentives that exist within the EI program.

Example

In a region with an unemployment rate of 14.5 per cent, a worker with a work pattern of 16 weeks (560 hours at 35 hours per week) would be entitled to 30 weeks of EI benefits under this existing policy. Under the pilot project, the EI benefit entitlement would be 35 weeks.

EI Responds

This pilot project is part of the Government of Canada's commitment to ensure that EI continues to be responsive to the needs of Canadians and adapt to changing labour markets. The project is based on early recommendations made by the Task Force on Seasonal Work.

As a result of the pilot project, an estimated 100,000 EI claimants will receive an additional $1,000 per claim, in each year of the pilot.

See the attached list of EI economic regions included in the pilot project.

REGIONS INCLUDED IN PILOT PROJECT NO. 6