About Employment Insurance
Canada provides temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers through the Employment Insurance (EI) Program. EI is a social benefit provided by the federal government that provides short-term financial assistance for jobless Canadians during periods of unexpected unemployment when they are not eligible for regular Employment Insurance benefits. The most common reason for being out of work is because of a drop in business activity, which can be either seasonal or structural.
The EI program also provides access to extended benefits in certain cases when claimants are unable to quickly re-enter the workforce due to disability, illness or caring responsibilities. This includes maternity and parental leave as well as compassionate caregiving leave or bereavement.
In 2016, the number of unemployed Canadians reached its lowest point in 6 years. Almost 1 million unemployed Canadians were receiving EI benefits, a significant decline from the 2.6 million that were collecting EI benefits in 2013.
The EI program is meant to help Canadians get back into the workforce when it's most difficult to find work or they are temporarily unable to work due to illness or caring responsibilities. Eligible employees can collect EI regular benefits for a maximum of 50 weeks in a 52-week period.
People with maternity, parental or adoption claims, or who take time off to care for a seriously ill family member with a significant risk of death are eligible for extended EI benefits. In 2016-17, there were 27,700 extended EI claims. Extended EI benefits represented 0.2% of all claim closures in 2016-17. There were more than 12 million claim closures (including regular and extended) in 2016-17, representing roughly 1 in every 10 Canadians who were able to work and had enough insurable hours of work to qualify for an EI claim.
Source: Statistics Canada. 2017. "Employment Insurance: Chronology". Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2018. "Canada's EI System - The Facts". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2018. "Frequently Asked Questions". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2018. "About Employment Insurance". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2017."Employment Insurance (EI) Quick Facts". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2017."Access to EI Benefits". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2017."EI Regular Benefits - Eligibility". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
Source: Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 2017."EI Child Benefits - Eligibility". Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
Source: Statistics Canada. 2017"Extended EI benefits" (PDF). Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada. Retrieved 22 January 2018..
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Conclusion
EI is a benefit program organized by the federal government. It provides financial assistance for Canadians when they are unable to find a job through normal channels. EI payments are based on your previous employment and earnings in Canada or other countries, and can be affected by changes in the national economic situation. However, EI benefits do not increase with inflation because of the aging of the population contributing to older workers having lower annual earnings during their career..