The number of Canadians receiving EI benefits climbed by 6,600 in July, according to Statistics Canada, continuing an upward trend.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The number of Canadians receiving jobless benefits in July reached the highest level outside of the pandemic period since 2017 in another sign of the country’s deteriorating job market.
But while the fallout from the trade war with the United States has contributed to the rise in the number of people collecting Employment Insurance (EI), Canada’s labour woes can’t all be laid at the feet of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The number of Canadians receiving EI benefits climbed by 6,600 in July to 552,000, according to Statistics Canada. That continues an upward trend that began at the start of the year, the agency said, adding jobless claims have jumped 13.2 per cent since the end of last year.
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The upward trend in the number of regular EI beneficiaries has occurred as the unemployment rate climbed to 7.1 per cent from 6.6 per cent in January, reaching its highest level since 2016 outside of the pandemic period.
U.S. tariffs have delivered a shock to the job market, but in Ontario, home to many of Canada’s largest manufacturing exporters, the number of EI recipients has been climbing steadily for two years. The number claiming benefits in the province is now 50 per cent higher than before the pandemic.
Nor does the recent increase in benefit recipients entirely reflect fallout from Mr. Trump’s tariffs.
In Quebec, which has experienced a 25-per-cent increase in EI recipients since the start of the year – greater than any other province – the largest increase was among those who previously worked in education, law and social, community and government services. That category includes workers in the postsecondary education sector, which has been hit hard by caps on international study permits.
Likewise, in Ontario and British Columbia, workers in that category accounted for large increases in EI beneficiaries, second only to jobs in business, finance and administration.
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