The number of British Columbians receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits did not change significantly in January when compared with the previous month, according to Statistics Canada data released this morning.
The data shows 55,880 EI beneficiaries in B.C. in January, compared with 56,150 in December 2012, a decrease of less than 0.5%.
The number of recipients in January was 11.9% less than in the same period one year prior (63,410).
Nationwide, EI beneficiaries decreased by 1.6% from December 2012 to January 2013, to 531,120.
The occupational groups with the largest decreases in EI recipients in January when compared with the previous month, across Canada, were:
- professional occupations in health, nurse supervisors and registered nurses (-3.8%);
- teachers and professors (-3.2%); and
- financial, secretarial and administrative occupations (-2.3%).
