CBJ - January 25 - The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits totalled 539,000 in November, virtually unchanged from the previous month, according to Statistics Canada.

The number of EI beneficiaries fell in Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In British Columbia and Quebec, the number of people receiving benefits rose slightly.

Nationally, the number of initial and renewal claims edged down 0.8 per cent to 238,300 in November. While claims fell 4.2 per cent in Ontario, they increased 5.7 per cent in Manitoba and five per cent in Saskatchewan. There was little or no change in the remaining provinces.

Provincially, the number of people receiving regular EI benefits in November declined in Prince Edward Island (-2.7 per cent), Ontario (-1.8 per cent), Nova Scotia (-1.6 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.6 per cent). The number edged up in British Columbia (1.2 per cent) and Quebec (0.7 per cent), while it was little changed in the other provinces.

The decrease in Ontario continued a two-year-long series of declines. In Nova Scotia, the number of beneficiaries declined for the third consecutive month.

While virtually unchanged in November, the number of EI beneficiaries in Alberta has been on a steady downward trend since October 2009.

Between November 2010 and November 2011, the number of people receiving regular benefits fell 108,200 (-18.8 per cent) nationally, while declines occurred in 133 of the 143 large centres.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the number of beneficiaries decreased in four of the five large centres. In St. John's, the number fell 15.6 per cent, continuing a series of declines that began 20 months earlier.

In Quebec, the number of beneficiaries declined in 31 of the 33 large centres, with the largest percentage decreases in Rouyn-Noranda and Saint-Hyacinthe. In the census metropolitan area of Québec, the number decreased 23.1 per cent. In Montreal, the number of people receiving benefits fell 22 per cent (to 45,400), a downward trend that began in spring 2010. There were also marked year-over-year declines in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Granby, and Gatineau.