Canadians may be having a tougher time finding and keeping stable employment in 2025, as new data shows the number of Employment Insurance (EI) recipients is rising at a much faster rate than last year.
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that the total number of Canadians receiving EI benefits in June of 2025 increased by 18,000 to 541,000, which was a 3.4 per cent rise from the previous month, and is 12.8 per cent higher compared to June 2024.
The agency also reports that in the first six months of the year, the number of new EI beneficiaries has climbed to a total of 54,000, or an 11 per cent rise.
The vast majority of June’s increase in Canadians receiving benefits were seen in Quebec and Ontario, followed by Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan.
In the first half of the year, the number of EI recipients increased by 19.6 per cent in Quebec and 12.5 per cent in Ontario, the agency says.
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Those last employed in sales and service occupations saw the biggest increase in new EI beneficiaries in June, with nearly 5000 or a 5.4 per cent rise, which marked the fifth straight monthly increase for the category, according to the report.
Former manufacturing and utilities employees also saw a sharp rise in June with more than 4,000 new EI recipients, which marked an 11 per cent increase. Statistics Canada also notes this category increase in new EI beneficiaries was seen mostly in Ontario.
These numbers come as the trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and tensions between Canada and China have led many business owners to adapt to impacts like higher costs.
Some are “absorbing” the higher costs to avoid having to raise prices for customers or layoff workers.
Although the trade war has shown some impacts on Canada’s manufacturing sector this year, in both June and July manufacturing overall saw job numbers start to rise.
The most recent report on the job market from Statistics Canada showed that in the month of July, 41,000 jobs were shed from the national labour force, while unemployment remained at 6.9 per cent.
Many small business owners are at risk of closing in the months ahead because of tariff impacts, as noted in a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
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