Regional Indicator 17: Employment Insurance

Why It's Important The proportion of the labour force not able to find employment is an important indicator of the economic health of a jurisdiction. When an economy is growing strongly, new jobs are created and, unless the labour force grows enough to offset the growth in jobs, the unemployment rate will fall and there should be fewer people collecting Employment Insurance benefits. Note: *Regional BC includes the Kelowna CMA.

Regional Indicator Seventeen tracks the number of Employment Insurance beneficiaries as a percent of the population aged 19-64.

The proportion of the population (aged 19-64) receiving Employment Insurance benefits is higher in Abbotsford and Regional BC than in Vancouver or Victoria. Kelowna falls between the high and low regions.

The number of Employment Insurance beneficiaries in BC in 2007 was up slightly from 2006 due to an increase in Regional BC. The 74,977 on EI in 2007 was three percent higher than the low point set in 2000.

Other than the four percent increase in Regional BC between 2006 and 2007 every region has seen the EI to population ratio drop in each of the last four years.