On average, 1.4 million Canadians were unemployed at any point of 2024 and 64.5% of them had contributed to employment insurance (EI) in the previous 12 months. That rate was slightly lower than the previous year (66%), but higher than the pre-pandemic 2017 to 2019 average (62.8%), according to data Statistics Canada released Wednesday.
The eligibility rate for EI for the entire Canadian workforce in 2024 was 83.1%, unchanged from 2023 and slightly below the 84.7% average from 2017 to 2019. Those who were full-time employees had a 93.8% eligibility rate compared to 41.6% for part-time employees.
EI eligibility rates vary depending on regional unemployment rates, insurable hours worked and other factors.
Eligibility rates for regular EI benefits were highest in the Atlantic provinces in 2024, at 93.1%, up slightly from 91.9% the year before. On the flip side, eligibility rates in 2024 were lowest in Saskatchewan at 72.4% (down 8.1 percentage points compared to 2023) and Manitoba at 74.4% (down 12.9 percentage points). In Alberta, the eligibility rate rose 11.1 percentage points from 2023 to 85.8% in 2024.
The eligibility rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 50.3% in 2024, down 6.8 percentage points from 2023. The contribution rate among unemployed youth also fell from 61.9% in 2023 to 48.2% in 2024.
“The eligibility rate for youth has historically been lower than the rate for older age groups, as youth are less likely to accumulate a sufficient number of insurable work hours and are more likely to have an invalid job separation,” Statistics Canada said in the report.
At the same time, the eligibility rate for unemployed core-aged workers from 25 to 54 was 89% in 2024, up by 2.2 percentage points from the previous year.
Four-fifths (81.2%) of parents with a child 18 months or younger, mostly mothers, paid EI contributions before birth or adoption. Of these parents, 92.8% received parental benefits. Over half (51.9%) of the parents’ spouses, mostly fathers, had claimed or intended to claim parental benefits in 2024.
The average duration of parental leave increased by 0.6 months to 12.1 months in 2024 from 2023. The average duration of leave among the spouses or partners of surveyed parents was 9.6 weeks.