British Columbians receiving regular income benefits remained stable in March, dipping just 1.7% compared with February.
The most significant change in the latest employment insurance (EI) figures released May 22 by Statistics Canada is the drop in B.C. women receiving benefits.
West Coast women on benefits went from 22,670 in March 2013 to 20,880 in March 2014 — a 7.9% decline.
Overall, B.C. reported 50,980 residents were on EI in March compared with 51,850 in February. That number stood at 53,680 in March 2013, making for a 5% decline year-to-year.
In the Vancouver metropolitan region, the number of people on EI dropped from 22,620 in March 2013 to 21,310 in March 2014 — a 5.8% difference.
Victoria and Kelowna, meanwhile, witnessed respective year-to-year declines in EI enrolment of 9.8% and 10.8%.
