Number of EI recipients down 1.9 per cent in January: StatsCan

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says 502,500 people were getting regular employment insurance benefits in January, down 1.9 per cent from the previous month.

It says the decline follows a period of relative stability in the number of EI beneficiaries that began in May 2013.

The number of regular EI recipients declined in Quebec, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Ontario in January.

There was little or no change in the other provinces.

The number of beneficiaries was down 4.6 per cent in Quebec, 1.7 per cent in British Columbia, 1.6 per cent in P.E.I. and 1.1 per cent in Ontario.