Alberta's rising jobless claims fuelled by young workers, men

Alberta has been particularly hard-hit by recession-fed job losses, with young people and unemployed men claiming federal Employment Insurance benefits in near record numbers, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

In a report,thefederalagencysays EI claims in Alberta more than tripled from 15,900 to 57,350 between May 2008 and May 2009. Percentage-wise, Alberta has seen the most dramatic rise in EI claims in the past yearof anyprovince.

Mostof theaccompanying steep rise in the number of regular EI beneficiaries has occurred since the labour market began to deteriorate last fall. Between Octoberand May, the number of people receiving EI in Alberta rose by38,800, giving the province its highest number of EI recipients since 1997. At the same time, the provincial unemployment rate grew from3.7 per cent to6.6 per cent.

In one month alone, from April to May this year, EI claimsgrew by a whopping 16.8 per cent,Statistics Canadasaid.

While Alberta's overall unemployment rate was below the national rate of8.4 per centin May, the number of people receiving regular EIbenefitsshot up in virtually all ofthe province'slarge centres from May2008to May2009. In that time, the number of beneficiaries in Calgary increased from4,100to18,200, and in Edmonton, from4,300to16,000.

Young Albertans under age 25 appear to be the hardest hit by the job-market downturn. The number of EI claimants in that age group has risen almost 450 per cent in the 12 months from May 2008.

And men appear to be losing their jobs more frequently than women. Year-over-year from May 2008, the number of male EI claimants in Alberta rose 318 per cent, comparedwith a 166 per cent rise in claims by women.

EI stats can be misleading

But Dan Sumner, an economist with the Alberta Treasury Branch,cautioned thatyear-on-year comparisons of EI clams can be misleading, especially since 2008 saw historically low numbers of EI claims.

"When we make year-over-year comparisons, we're comparing with abnormally low levels which we knew were not going to persist in the long run," he said. "And now a lot of this also has to do not just with employers reducing employment but also with an increase in the labour force which has occurred over the last year."

Sumner said a correction in Alberta's labour market was overdue after the labour shortage of the past few years, and local employers now have some choice when they are looking to hire.

Newly out-of-workindividualsmust firstsubmit anEI claimbefore getting approved to receive benefits.

The job losses in the province appear to be widespread across many sectors. Hardest hit are manufacturing; construction; retail and wholesale trade; professional, scientific and technical services; and the natural resources sector.

Statistics Canadawill issue its reporton June 2009 Employment Insuranceclaims on Aug. 25.