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Alberta EI Claims Have Doubled In The Past Year

Canada-wide, the number of EI recipients increased 45,800 since last year.
Shutterstock / Luna Vandoorne

The number of Albertans collecting employment insurance has more than doubled in the past year, according to a Statistics Canada report released Thursday.

In November 2015, 61,300 Albertans collected EI — compared to 30,300 during the same time a year earlier.

Two of the province's biggest cities both saw increases in claimants since October. Edmonton saw a 4.7 per cent increase in beneficiaries and Calgary, 3.3 per cent.

"On a year-over-year basis, the number of beneficiaries whose last job was in natural and applied sciences nearly tripled," according to the report.

Canada-wide, the number of EI recipients increased to 544,200, up 45,800 from the previous year. Two-thirds of that increase came from Alberta along.

Here's the breakdown of which sectors saw the greatest increases in EI recipients in Alberta:

  • 5.5 per cent in business, finance and administrative occupations
  • 3.1 per cent in natural and applied sciences
  • 3 per cent in management occupations
  • 3 per cent in primary industry occupations
  • 1.9 per cent in trades, transport or equipment operation

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