Largest decreases in Alberta, B.C.
In April, 598,400 Canadians received regular employment insurance benefits, down by 6,500 (1.1 per cent) from March and the seventh consecutive monthly decline, according to Statistics Canada.
The number of beneficiaries fell in six provinces. The largest decreases were seen in British Columbia and Alberta, both down 3.7 per cent.
The number of initial and renewal claims increased 2.8 per cent in April to 234,000. This increase followed three months of declines.
The largest advance in the number of claims occurred in Prince Edward Island (up 5.2 per cent), Alberta (up 4.6 per cent), New Brunswick (up 4.1 per cent) and British Columbia (up 3.1 per cent).
At the same time, the number of claims declined in Manitoba (down 2.6 per cent).
Year-over-year, the number of people receiving benefits fell 12.8 per cent or by 97,500. Declines were seen in 125 of 143 large centres with a population of 10,000 or more, according to Statistics Canada.
