Largest increases in Ontario and the West
After two months of declines, the number of people receiving employment insurance benefits rose by 7.1 per cent in September, according to Statistics Canada.
The number of regular EI beneficiaries increased 54,300 to 818,000, up 63.5 per cent from October 2008 when employment hit its peak.
The largest increases in September occurred in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
The number of beneficiaries in Ontario rose by 22,500. In Alberta, the number of beneficiaries increased by 14,400, and in B.C. the number increased by 11,300.
Compared with September 2008, the number of EI beneficiaries in September 2009 increased in all census metropolitan areas, with the fastest year-over-year increases in Calgary and Edmonton.
The number of beneficiaries also more than doubled in Greater Sudbury, Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon, Hamilton and Kitchener.
