Highlights

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Official title: Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2022, and ending March 31, 2023: Highlights

List of abbreviations

This is the complete list of abbreviations for the Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2022 and ending March 31, 2023.

The Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report presents the analysis of the impact and effectiveness of the benefits and other assistance provided under the Employment Insurance Act. The reporting period is the fiscal year starting on April 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2023 (referred to as 2022‑23). The highlights below relate to this period or reflect changes between 2021‑22 and 2022‑23.

Canada’s economy experienced high inflation and a slowdown in growth throughout 2022‑23, while the Canadian labour market continued its strong recovery.

• The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 3.2% in 2022‑23 compared to 5.7% in 2021‑22. The fiscal year was also marked by unprecedented levels of inflation, with a peak at 8.1% in June 2022
• In 2022‑23, the Canadian labour market was characterised by strong employment growth and a low national unemployment rate. The average unemployment rate was 5.1% during the fiscal year, compared to 6.8% in 2021‑22
• Between 2021‑22 and 2022‑23, most industry sectors experienced employment growth, although many had still not returned to their pre‑pandemic levels
• The duration of unemployment and the share of long‑term unemployment displayed downward trends in 2022‑23 but were still slightly higher than their pre‑pandemic levels.
• After reaching unprecedented levels in the first quarter of 2022‑23, both job vacancies and job vacancy rates decreased for the rest of the fiscal year in Canada

All EI temporary measures that were in place since September 27, 2020 to facilitate access to the EI program in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic ended on September 24, 2022, after which the program returned to original EI rules.

• In 2022‑23, claims established between April 1, 2022, and September 24, 2022 were subject to the second set of EI temporary measures that were put in place in response to COVID‑19 and that facilitated access to EI benefits with a minimum of 420 hours of insurable employment, a minimum benefit rate of $300 per week for a certain period, and a simplified treatment of reasons for separation and monies on separation
• Claims established between September 25, 2022 and March 31, 2023 were subject to the original EI rules

The number of new EI regular claims established in 2022‑23 returned to pre-pandemic levels, while the total amount paid in EI regular benefits significantly decreased compared to 2021‑22.

• In 2022‑23, 1.29 million new EI regular claims were established in Canada. This is lower than the 1.46 million regular claims established in 2021‑22, but similar to pre‑pandemic levels
• The total amount paid in EI regular benefits significantly decreased from $28.6 billion in 2021‑22 to $12.3 billion in 2022‑23, returning closer to pre-pandemic levels. This decline in benefits paid can be explained by the lower number of regular claims established in 2022‑23 compared to during the pandemic, the completion of the large number of regular claims established in 2020‑21 that continued to receive benefits in 2021‑22, and the end of all COVID‑19 EI temporary measures on September 24, 2022
• Under the temporary legislated seasonal measure in effect in 13 EI economic regions that provides up to 5 additional weeks of regular benefits, a total of 167,288 claims by eligible seasonal claimants received additional weeks of EI regular benefits since August 2018.^{Footnote 1} On average, these claims received an additional 4.2 weeks of EI regular benefits. By the end of 2022‑23, a total of $296.3 million in additional benefits had been paid to these claimants. This temporary up to 5 weeks measure for seasonal workers is in place until October 26, 2024

The eligibility rate for EI regular benefits was higher in the first half than the second half of 2022‑23.

• As the eligibility criteria to qualify for EI regular benefits changed during the fiscal year due to the end of the EI temporary measures on September 24, 2022, eligibility rates are reported separately for the first and second halves of 2022‑23. In addition, as the EI Coverage Survey^{Footnote 2} did not fully adapt to the eligibility criteria changes, a different data source and a revised methodology were used
• It was estimated that 73.5% and 57.0% of job separators had enough hours of insurable employment to qualify for EI regular benefits during the first and second half of 2022‑23, respectively
• The higher eligibility rate during the first half of 2022‑23 can be explained by the second set of EI temporary measures facilitating access to EI benefits, whereas the eligibility criteria during the second half of 2022‑23 went back to the original EI rules

The number of Work‑Sharing agreements and new claims established in 2022‑23 decreased compared to 2021‑22.

• In 2022‑23, employment and unemployment rates remained at near records. With the widespread availability of jobs, Work‑Sharing program participation decreased from 886 agreements started in 2021‑22 to 503 in 2022‑23.  An estimated 6,147 layoffs were averted during 2022‑23
• As a result, the number of EI claims from workers participating in a Work‑Sharing agreement significantly decreased from 15,078 in 2021‑22 to 9,959 in 2022‑23. The total amount paid also decreased from $88.8 million in 2021‑22 to $30.6 million in 2022‑23

The number of new claims established for EI special benefits, and total amount paid, decreased in 2022‑23.

• The number of new claims established for EI special benefits was 657,820 in 2022‑23, compared to 704,620 in 2021‑22, with the greatest declines in the number of claims for sickness, maternity and parental benefits relative to the previous year
• The total amount paid in EI special benefits decreased to $7.0 billion in 2022‑23, from $7.7 billion in 2021‑22, but was slightly higher than before the pandemic
• Claims for EI sickness benefits continued to represent almost two‑thirds of EI special benefit claims in 2022‑23
• The proportion of EI parental claims established by men continued to increase and reached 29.3% in 2022‑23 compared to 16.8% in 2018‑19.  This increase can by explained, in part, by the additional weeks of benefits available to parents who share parental benefits since March 2019

In 2022‑23, Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) continued to provide support for individuals and employers across Canada to obtain skills training and employment supports.

• Approximately 804,000 participants received Employment Benefits or Support Measures (EBSMs) in 2022‑23. Approximately 751,000 participants were served by provinces and territories under the LMDAs, and approximately 53,000 participants were served by Indigenous organizations through the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program
• LMDAs supported approximately 145,000 active EI claimants while they were out of work, helping them to be ready with the skills needed to participate in the economic recovery
• Approximately $2.7 billion was invested to help those most affected, to enhance the capacity of service delivery organizations, and to improve labour market information. Of this amount, approximately $2.4 billion of the total was transferred to provinces and territories under LMDAs to respond to regional needs and opportunities

Building on the work done in previous years, Service Canada continues to improve and enhance its administration of the EI program. The following are some highlights and updates from 2022‑23:

• Canadians submitted over 2.9 million claims for EI and, on average, eligible claimants received their first payment 24 days after filing
• The 2022‑23 Client Experience Survey indicates that 78% of EI clients were satisfied with their overall service experience, comparable with last year’s 76%
• EI call centre and processing resources are being managed collaboratively in the new Integrated Workload and Workforce project
  • This project improves efficiency, call resolution, and workload allocation and speeds up processing time for claimants
• The Department implemented a multi‑year strategy to reduce the inventory of claims pending review and improve capacity to meet service standards
  • The first stage included hiring new staff and enhancing the skills of existing ones
• The Department created the new EI Quality Council with a mandate to analyze the results of the EI Payment Accuracy Review and EI Processing Excellence, Accuracy, and Quality programs, making sure that EI claimants receive the benefits to which they are entitled
• The Department developed an Integrated Action Plan to resolve potentially fraudulent activity on client files and ensure timely benefits delivery for legitimate claimants
  • As a result, processes and procedures were streamlined, which allowed the department to resolve files more effectively and to proactively address files involving identity theft
• The EI Emergency Response Benefit post‑payment verification is ongoing and will continue as per the Department’s operational plan
  • In 2022‑23, close to 31,000 reviews were completed, identifying approximately $51 million in savings
• Enhancements to the document upload function means that EI claimants can now upload almost all of the supporting documents that Service Canada requires for an EI claim to their My Service Canada Account
• Improvements are being made to voice‑based services as an assistive technology by publishing voice‑ready content on Canada.ca and search engine optimization for voice content
• Call centres are working to replace outdated TTY technology to offer a more modern and real‑time service for those who use the service