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Entire report (996 KB) and Annexes in PDF format:    

• Annex 1 - (85 KB)
• Annex 2 - (166 KB)
• Annex 3 - (130 KB)
• Annex 4 - (122 KB)
• Annex 5 - (162 KB)
• Annex 6 - (101 KB)

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Executive Highlights

This tenth Employment Insurance (EI) Monitoring and Assessment Report continues an annual examination of EI for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006.

Thirteen consecutive years of employment growth

• Annual average employment grew moderately in 2005/06, by 239,500 (+1.5%).
• Most job growth since 1999/00 has been in full-time employment.
• Most of the gains in 2005/06 took place among employees, though self-employment also grew.
• The unemployment rate fell to a 30-year low.

Access to EI benefits remained high

• Among those who had been contributing to the EI program (by paying premiums) and were then laid off, 83.4% were eligible for EI benefits in 2005.
• Eligibility is determined by work patterns. It was highest for those working year round and full time. Access is lower among part-time employees and those with lower work force attachment.
• Access is highest in regions of high unemployment.
• The vast majority of workers accumulate sufficient hours of insured employment to qualify.

Regular EI claims and benefits declined

• The number of new regular claims fell by 3.1% in 2005/06, to 1.3 million.
• Regular benefits paid decreased to $8.0 billion (from $8.2 billion the previous year), as average weekly benefits increased to $324 (from $315 in 2004/05).
• The largest declines in the number of regular claims were in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
• The average regular claim lasted 19.2 weeks and represented 59.8% of the average number of weeks claimants were entitled to receive.

First decline in fishing claims since 1999/00

• The decline in fishing claims was concentrated in Newfoundland and Labrador and in British Columbia.
• The average weekly fishing benefit decreased to $377, which was the first decline in nearly 10 years in the average weekly payment for any type of EI benefit.

Maternity and parental claims declined

• There was a decrease in the number of maternity claims in 2005/06, due to a decline in Quebec (even before the province implemented its own parental insurance plan in January 2006), which was partially offset by increases in other provinces and territories.
• The decrease in the number of maternity and parental claims made by women was partially offset by an increase in the number of men claiming parental benefits.
• Parents who share parental benefits use almost all (93.5%) of the full year of benefit entitlement.

Apprenticeship claims and benefits increased

• The number of apprenticeship claims increased by 10.6% compared to 2004/05, and 38.3% of the 34,970 claims by apprentices were not subject to a waiting period.
• Total benefits paid to apprentices increased to $105.0 million, and 46.6% of apprenticeship claimants received the maximum weekly benefit of $413.

Average weekly benefits have grown faster than projected annual average earnings (PAAE)

• Since 1996/97, average weekly benefits have increased from $272 to $324, or by 19.2%, exceeding the growth rate of the PAAE by 2.7 percentage points.
• The proportion of clients receiving the maximum weekly benefit has been increasing. It reached 36.8% of all regular claimants in 2005/06, reflecting increases in average wage rates.

Positive labour markets allowed a refocusing of active employment measures

• A decrease in expenditures on employment benefits was partially offset by increases in employment services and pan-Canadian expenditures.