Annex 6 - Key studies referenced in the report

On this page

• List of abbreviations
• 1. Job Vacancies and Employment Insurance Utilization
• 2. 2020 Actuarial Report on the Employment Insurance Premium Rate
• 3. Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans
• 4. The redistributional impact of Employment Insurance, 2007 to 2009
• 5. Financial impacts of receiving Employment Insurance
• 6. Characteristics and Trends of EI Regular Benefits Claimants and Claims with Separation Monies
• 7. Employment Insurance Benefits and Job Match Quality
• 8. Trends in the Use of Multiple Records of Employment to Establish Employment Insurance Claims
• 9. Evaluation of the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative
• 10. Record of Employment-based Measures of Employment Insurance Eligibility: Update 2001 to 2017
• 11. Profile of Employment Insurance Coverage and Benefits of Seniors
• 12. Who are workers working for when Working While on Claim?
• 13. Characteristics of firms that hire apprentices
• 14. Evaluation of the Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits
• 15. Enhance understanding of the use of the Premium Reduction Program
• 16. Compassionate care benefits: Update (2004 to 2005 and 2015 to 2016)
• 17. Enhance understanding of self-employed workers’ participation in EI Special Benefits
• 18. Pattern of Job Bank Use by Employers of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)

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, 2019 and ending March 31, 2020.

1. Job Vacancies and Employment Insurance Utilization

Author(s), year

ESDC: Labour Market Information Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

This study examines the link between availability of jobs and employment insurance (EI) utilization in Canada from 2004 to 2019 by examining:

• the trends in job vacancy rates, and
• various measures of EI utilization by province and major industry groups

Key finding(s)

• For the period 2004-2019, for Canada as a whole, our analyses show an unstable negative relationship between EI utilization rate and job vacancy rates (JVR). 
  • The relationship may have changed over time due to structural changes in the demand for and supply of labour, changes in the EI program as well as other related policies.
• However, the relationship varied substantially across provinces.
  • For some provinces, we find a negative relationship. This is particularly the case for the larger provinces: Ontario, Quebec, British Colombia and Alberta. However, for the Atlantic Provinces, we find no clear negative relationship. In fact, in some cases, (e.g. Nova Scotia), the relationship is slightly positive.
  • This could be explained by provincial differences in the efficiency of matching between job seekers and employers or the differences in the degree of skills mismatch.
• Similarly, we find no stable negative relationship between industry (i.e. 2-digit North American Industrial Classification code) JVR and EI utilization rate.
  • In fact, the relationship is slightly positive at higher levels of JVR, which may suggest skills mismatch.
• As well, it is notable that we find large variations in EI utilization rate by industry.
  • For example, the construction industry had the highest rate, followed by the manufacturing and agriculture. On the other hand, retail trade and information arts, and recreation had the lowest rates.

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2. 2020 Actuarial Report on the Employment Insurance Premium Rate

Author(s), year

Office of the Chief Actuary, 2019

Objective(s)

The purpose of this report is to provide the Commission with all the information prescribed under section 66.3 of the EI Act. Pursuant to this section, the Chief Actuary shall provide the Commission with a report that sets out:

• the forecast premium rate for the following year and a detailed analysis in support of the forecast
• the calculations performed for the purposes of sections 4 and 69 of the EI Act
• the information provided under section 66.1, and
• the source of the data, the actuarial and economic assumptions and the actuarial methodology used

Key finding(s)

• The 2020 Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) was $54,200 or a 2.1% increase from the 2019 MIE of $53,100

• The 2020 estimated cost savings to the EI program that are generated by employer sponsored qualified wage-loss plans were $1,049 million.

Availability

This 2020 Actuarial report (PDF format) is available on the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board’s website.

3. Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans

Author(s), year

ESDC: Evaluation Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

This paper examines:

• the characteristics of employers and employees who take part in the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Program, and
• their utilization of Employment Insurance benefits.

Key finding(s)

• Between 2008 and 2017, the number of firms with an active registered SUB plan increased from 5,714 to 7,782—an annual average of around 6,800 active firms—which represents a little over 0.5% of all firms in Canada.
• Registered SUB plans for illness, injury or quarantine account for around 63% of all plans while SUB plans for temporary stoppage of work, training or plans where there are a combination of top-up plans account for around 10%, 7% and 20% respectively.
• Overall, EI claims which receive top-up payments through registered SUB plans account for around 3% of all EI claims or between 40,000 and 60,000 claims per year. However, the analysis found that only 13% of EI claims from firms with registered SUB plans received top-up payments.
• Claimants who receive top-up payments for regular benefit claims are more likely to return to the same firm after a claim as compared to those who worked for non-SUB firms. A positive relationship is observed between job tenure and SUB claim whereby individuals tend to stay with an employer longer if they are part of a SUB firm.

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4. The Redistributional Impact of Employment Insurance, 2007 to 2009

Author(s), year

Ross Finnie, Queen’s University School of Policy Studies; and Ian Irvine, Concordia University (for HRSDC, Evaluation Directorate, 2013)

Objective(s)

The objective of this study is to investigate the degree to which Canada’s EI program has redistributed purchasing power during the recent economic recession. More precisely, the period of investigation runs from 2007 to 2009, although results from the 2002 to 2006 period are also presented in order to place the recession period in a longer‑term context.

Key finding(s)

• EI redistributes income substantially when the unit of analysis is individual earnings. The lower deciles of the distribution benefit both on the contributions and benefits sides
• The quantitative redistributional impact of EI in 2009 appears to be approximately twice the impact of 2007
• In 2007 and 2008, Quebec was the largest recipient of benefits (even without accounting for family benefits). However, 2009 saw a reversal of this pattern: Quebec’s benefits increased by 20%, whereas Ontario’s benefits increased by almost 50%, a reflection of how much harder the recession hit the employment sector in Ontario than in Quebec

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5. Financial impacts of receiving Employment Insurance

Author(s), year

Constantine Kapsalis, Data Probe Economic Consulting Inc., 2010

Objective(s)

This study explores the financial impact of receiving EI benefits. It probes the evolution of individual incomes before, during and after the receipt of EI benefits, as well as the influence of receiving EI on household consumption.

Key finding(s)

• The average EI beneficiary experienced a 38% drop in wages during a year with EI. The most important offsetting factor was EI; it replaced about 38% of lost wages. The second most important factor was investment income; it replaced about 9% of lost wages. Other income sources played a lesser role
• Lower income families received a higher return of their contributions than did higher income families. In fact, families with after-tax income below the median received 34% of total benefits and paid 18% of all premiums in 2007. The study also found that EI halved the incidence of low income among beneficiaries (from 14% to 7%) during that period

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6. Characteristics and Trends of EI Regular Benefits Claimants and Claims with Separation Monies

Author(s), year

ESDC: Employment Insurance Policy Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

Focused on severance/vacation monies because the comprised 72% of all separation monies, this study examines:

• trends in separation monies, and
• characteristics of claimants and their claims over a 10 year period (2009-2018).

Key finding(s)

• There was a general downward trend over the 10 year period in all provinces and territories, all age groups and genders, all industries and all claimant types.
• Some distinct regional differences (may be related to industry differences) and differences by gender and age along with variation in entitlement and exhaustion.
• Atlantic provinces were less likely to receive separation monies, they had distinct age characteristics and the largest gender gap.
• Quebec had the highest proportion who received separation monies, although they received relatively low amounts.
• Ontario and the Western provinces had relatively high proportion who received separation monies, with comparatively high amounts, reflecting the higher average wages in these provinces.
• In 2015-2016, when commodity prices declined, Alberta and Saskatchewan experienced a sharp boost in claimants receiving separation monies.
• Claimants more likely to receive separation monies were:
  • women, yet the dollar amounts were lower;
  • working in the Information and cultural industry or the Finance and insurance industry, whereas in the Construction industry and the Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry only 15% received separation monies;
  • long-tenured and occasional claimants.
• Claimants receiving separation monies had longer entitlements and were slightly more likely to exhaust.

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7. Employment Insurance Benefits and Job Match Quality

Author(s), year

ESDC: Evaluation Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

This study examined the impact of receiving EI regular benefits on job match quality for claimants with weak labour market attachment.

Key finding(s)

• From 2002 to 2016, the number of laid-off workers who had insufficient hours to meet the minimum entrance requirement—i.e., ineligible laid-off workers—increased by 75% (from 226,620 to 395,530). The number of EI regular claimants (with less than 1,050 hours) remained stable over this period.
  • Ineligible laid-off workers are younger compared to EI regular claimants — 38% in the age group 15-24 versus 10%—and more likely to be women (52% versus 43%).
  • A straight comparison of post-lay-offs outcomes between the two groups shows that ineligible laid-off workers earned an average of about $1,600 per year more than EI claimants with low insurable hours. The same was found for the incidence of employment.
  • However, when comparing EI claimants with a comparable group of ineligible laid-off workers (matching methodology) a positive but moderate impact of EI was found on both earnings and the incidence of employment.
• Results from a complementary analysis using a regression discontinuity approach also points to positive impacts associated with the receipt of additional 2 weeks in EI entitlements by claimants with low insurable hours. The analysis is based on 'random' variations in the number of weeks a claimant is entitled to, in a given region, depending on the regional unemployment rate at the time of their layoff.

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8. Trends in the Use of Multiple Records of Employment to Establish Employment Insurance Claims

Author(s), year

ESDC: Evaluation Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

This study:

• examined the incidence of claiming EI regular benefits with multiple Records of Employment (ROEs) from 2000 to 2018, and
• assessed the extent to which EI regular claimants held multiple jobs either sequentially (one job starting after another) or concurrently prior to claiming benefits

Key finding(s)

• The number of claims with multiple ROEs was relatively stable over the study period (about 505,800 claims per year or 35.8% of all EI regular claims).
• Claims with multiple ROEs were less sensitive to changes in the economic activity than those with a single ROE. For instance, the proportion of claims with multiple ROEs temporarily decreased by 7.6 percentage points during the 2008-2009 recession due to the increase in the number of single ROE claims.
• In general, men, younger workers, those working in the Construction sector and claimants working while on claim were all more likely to establish their EI regular claims using multiple ROEs.
• Not all workers with multiples ROEs had more than one employers, in particular, about 3 out of 10 claimants had multiple ROEs, but with a unique employer.
• For the remaining 7 out of 10 claimants who had ROEs with multiple employers, jobs were more likely to be held sequentially (14.2% of all EI regular claims) than concurrently (11.1% of all EI regular claims).
• Nearly half of claimants who held multiple jobs concurrently, held them over a short period of time ranging from 1 to 5 weeks during their employment period.

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9. Evaluation of the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative

Author(s), year

ESDC: Evaluation Directorate, 2019

Objective(s)

This report presents the key findings and lessons learned of the evaluation of Employment Insurance measures put in place in 2013 as part of a federal initiative to better connect Canadians with available jobs; the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs (CCAJ) initiative. The initiative was comprised of 4 measures, which are each assessed in the evaluation:

• legislative changes and enhanced integrity measures to strengthen claimant’s obligations to undertake a reasonable job search for suitable employment
• enhancements to Job Alerts and labour market information to support job-search activities
• improved connections between the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the EI program to ensure Canadians are considered before temporary foreign workers
• collaboration projects with interested provinces and territories to test whether providing EI claimants with information on employment supports earlier in their claim would decrease EI usage

Key finding(s)

• It was found that there was a need to facilitate more effective job searches and encourage Employment Insurance claimants to accept all suitable work. While some of the measures somewhat contributed to the initiative’s objectives, others had mixed effects
• Enhanced integrity measures led to better monitoring of claimants and helped them return to work faster. However, the legislative changes did not encourage them to increase their job search efforts. Overall, they had low awareness of the changes
• Enhancements to Job Alerts and labour market information increased the awareness and take-up of Job Alerts. However, there was no significant improvement in labour market outcomes
• Improved connections between the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the EI Program had minimal impact on the number of Canadians considered and hired for jobs for which employers requested temporary foreign workers
• Collaboration projects with British Columbia and Manitoba had limited effectiveness. Evidence suggests that this type of intervention could be effective if it is better targeted at certain subgroups of EI claimants

Availability

The Evaluation of the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative report is available on the Employment and Social Development Canada web page.

10. Record of Employment-based Measures of Employment Insurance Eligibility: Update 2001 to 2017

Author(s), year

ESDC: Evaluation Directorate, 2019

Objective(s)

This study examined:

• the percentage of job separators with enough hours to meet the variable entrance requirement (VER),
• the percentage of laid-off separators with an EI claim, and
• eligibility and claim rates across unemployment rates, provinces, industries and regions.

Key finding(s)

• The percentage of individual record of employment (ROEs) with enough hours to qualify for EI regular benefits increased from 44.9% to 46.7% during the 2001 to 2017 period.
• Between 68% and 74% of job separators accumulated enough hours in the previous 52 weeks to qualify for EI regular benefits.
• The percentage of the laid-off job separators with enough combined hours in the last 52 weeks to qualify for EI regular benefit decreased from 75.4% in 2001 to 68.2% in 2017, meaning fewer laid-off job separators have qualified for EI regular benefits.
• In 2001, 2-in-3 laid-off workers with enough hours in the last 52 weeks received EI benefits compared to 1-in-2 laid-off workers in 2017, reflecting more favorable labour market conditions.

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11. Profile of Employment Insurance Coverage and Benefits of Seniors

Author(s), year

ESDC: Employment Insurance Policy Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

This study compared seniors to people in other age groups by examining their:

• participation,
• employment patterns, and
• preferred industries to work

This study also examined the share of senior claimants who may rely more intensely on the income support provided by the EI program and their income profiles.

Key finding(s)

• The participation rate of seniors more than doubled in the past two decades, increasing from 6.2% in 1999 to 14.9% in 2019.
• The preferred industry of work by seniors has evolved over time. In 2019, the largest share of seniors (11.6%) were employed in the Retail trade industry, whereas in 1999 the largest share of seniors (17.7%) were employed in the Agriculture industry.
• The share of seniors in part-time employment has increased significantly over the past two decades, most of whom choose this employment pattern due to personal preference.
• Seniors had the lowest average weekly insured earnings (9.5% less than the national average in 2019) compared to individuals in other age groups, resulting in the lowest average benefit rate (9.8% less than the national average in 2019) of EI regular benefits for them.
• In the past five years, the share of seniors in the total number of frequent claimants for EI regular benefits has been increasing. Among these frequent claimants, seniors had the lowest average employment income and received the lowest average amount in EI regular benefits.
• Seniors repaid the highest average amount of EI benefits compared to individuals in other age groups, explained by highest average total income reported by them.

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12. Who are workers working for when Working While on Claim?

Author(s), year

ESDC, Evaluation Directorate, 2016

Objective(s)

This study investigates the pre-claim and post-claim relationships between EI claimants who work while on claim and their employers. The target population is composed of “pure” regular claimants (those who received only regular benefits during their claim) who started their claim in 2010.

Key finding(s)

• Almost three-quarters (73.8%) of claimants who worked while on claim did so for a single employer
• The average claimant who worked while on claim, worked about one-third (32.3%) of the weeks spent on claim. The weeks of employment (both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the weeks on claim) increase with the number of employers. This suggests that those who try to work more weeks during the claim have to look for employment opportunities with more employers
• For 76.0% of claimants, working during an EI claim led to longer than a year employment after the claim
• Virtually all claimants (94.8%) who worked while on claim worked for the same employer before and/or after their claim

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13. Characteristics of firms that hire apprentices

Author(s), year

ESDC, Labour Market Information Directorate, 2090

Objective(s)

The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of firms that employ EI-supported apprentices. This involves examining the interaction between firms and apprentices during and after apprenticeship.

Key finding(s)

• The share of apprentices in a firm’s workforce is positively correlated with its productivity (in other words, value-added per employee)
  • A pattern that has become more apparent since the FY0809 recession
• There is no clearly defined hypothesis regarding a firm’s capital-intensity and its demand for apprentices. The study found that EI-supported apprentices are concentrated in the workforces of moderately capital-intensive firms and do not make up a large proportion of the workforce of the most capital-intensive firms nor the least capital-intensive firms
• Firms that train apprentices do so regularly. More specifically, larger firms are more likely to hire apprentices every year and are more likely to have hired an apprentice at least once in the study period (2001 to 2016). However, on average, smaller firms hire disproportionately more apprentices. Almost 1 in 2 apprentices work in firms with 5 to 49 employees
• On average, 4 out of 5 apprentices that claimed EI worked for a single employer from 2001 to 2012. However, not many apprentices end up working long-term with the employers that train them. Just under 50% of apprentices stay with their first firm for more than 3 years

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14. Evaluation of the Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits

Author(s), year

ESDC, Evaluation Directorate, 2020

Objective(s)

This evaluation provides an assessment of the impact of EI sickness benefits on post-illness separation outcomes based on:

• the use,
• the accessibility, and
• the impact of the benefits

The focus is on EI claimants receiving sickness benefits from 2000 to 2016, excluding self-employed workers.

Key finding(s)

• The duration of the benefits is adequate for most claimants, but those with severe and/or long-term illnesses are more likely to use the full 15 weeks of sickness benefits and remain sick hereafter.
• There has been significant growth in claims for the EI sickness benefits nationally since 2000 that can be explained, in part, by demographic changes.
• Access to employer short-term sickness/disability plans is not uniform across the labour force in Canada. Without such coverage, EI sickness benefits remain the main support for many workers.
• Gender (as well as educational attainment) had no statistically significant effect on the likelihood of whether someone claims or does not claim EI sickness benefits when other claimant’s characteristics are taken into account (such as type of illness or industry of employment).

Availability

The Evaluation of the Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits is available on the Employment and Social Development Canada web page.

15. Enhance understanding of the use of the Premium Reduction Program

Author(s), year

ESDC, Evaluation Directorate, 2019

Objective(s)

This study examines:

• the characteristics of employers offering short-term disability plans (STDPs) recognized by the Premium Reduction Program (PRP), and
• compares the usage of EI Sickness benefits between claimants covered by a STDP (in other words, EI is a second payer) and those who are not (EI is a first payer)

Key finding(s)

• The number of employers offering STDPs decreased by 12% over the 2000-2015 period. Large-sized employers increased by 3.0% while medium and small-sized employers decreased by 5.5% and 16.0% respectively
• Employers offering STDPs declined in the Private Services and Manufacturing sectors by 13.2% and 54.5% respectively. PRP usage grew in the Prairies provinces by 2.1% while Quebec and Ontario saw declines of 26.8% and 18.4% respectively
• 9 in 10 employers offered Weekly Indemnity plans to their employees – a minimum of 15 weeks of benefits
• The number of employees covered by an employer-provided STDP has increased by 11.4% over the 2000 to 2015 period
• Covered claimants who used EI as a second payer had a longer average duration of sickness benefits and a higher exhaustion rate than claimants who were not covered in each year from 2000 to 2015, independent of gender and age group

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16. Compassionate care benefits: Update (2004 to 2005 and 2015 to 2016)

Author(s), year

ESDC, Evaluation Directorate, 2018

Objective(s)

The report:

• describes the impact of the 2016 extension of the maximum duration on compassionate care benefits usage, and
• presents a socio-economic profile of individuals who applied for and received the benefits

Key finding(s)

• In FY1516, most compassionate care applicants were caring for their mother or father (58.1 %), followed by a spouse or partner (27.5%)
• On average, 8.7 weeks of benefits were paid in FY1516 compared to 4.8 in FY1011
• Approximately one third of compassionate care applicants did not receive benefits. The main reason for not receiving the benefits was that the applicants received other employment insurance benefits, followed by the absence of the medical certificate
• Applicants in British Columbia and Territories were statistically significantly more likely to have their applications approved
• Multivariate analysis suggests that the probability of not using all weeks available to the claimants is mainly explained by the mortality of care recipients. However, the impact of the mortality on this probability is mitigated by the extension of the benefits duration from 6 to 26 weeks

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17. Enhance understanding of self-employed workers’ participation in EI Special Benefits

Author(s), year

ESDC: Evaluation Directorate, 2019

Objective(s)

The purpose of this report is to provide additional information on the characteristics of self-employed Canadians who registered, cancelled or terminated and received benefits through the EI Special Benefits for Self-Employed (SBSE) program from 2010 to 2015.

Key finding(s)

• Compared to non-participants, when they registered, SBSE participants were, on average:
  • younger
  • more often women
  • reported lower net incomes from self-employment, and
  • had a higher incidence of additional paid employment
    • However, the incidence of paid employment was much lower the year they established a claim
• SBSE participants typically resided in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, or Quebec when they:
  • registered
  • cancelled or terminated, and
  • claimed benefits
• SBSE participants waited about a year and a half (82 weeks on average) between registration and first claim
• Nearly all SBSE participants who established a claim were women, the majority of whom were 25 to 34 years old, and most commonly received parental and maternity benefits. Over three-quarters of claimants who received maternity benefits used all 15 weeks available to them while 45.9% of claimants who received parental benefits used the full 35-week entitlement
• On average, 2-in-3 claimants appeared to continue their self-employment activity after claiming special benefits

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18. Pattern of Job Bank Use by Employers of Temporary Foreign Workers

Author(s), year

ESDC: Labour Market Information Directorate, 2021

Objective(s)

This study conducted a detailed analysis of the patterns in the usage of Job Bank by employers to support their applications for the recruitment of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs).

Key finding(s)

• Almost 1 in 5 Job Bank postings were associated with an employer considering use of the TFW program (2015 to 2019 data from the Job Bank Data Platform and LMIA/TFWP database).
• TFW related job postings1 differed from non-TFW related job postings, for example:
  • They were displayed on Job Bank for longer time periods (two months versus one month);
  • They more often advertised occupations with the same 4-digit National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes, although this tendency reduced over time;
  • They were more likely to advertise permanent, seasonal and contract roles; and
  • They were more likely to advertise mid-to-high skill or management level jobs.
• The average number of days between a job posting and LMIA application increased between 2015 and 2019 implying employers considering use of the TFW program were increasingly waiting longer before doing so.
• The top three industries accounting for 52.7% of the TFW related job postings on Job Bank were: Accommodation and Food Services; Other Services (except Public Administration)2; and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting.
• TFW related job postings were more likely to be posted by firms with less than 100 employees.
• The number of TFW related job postings peaked in the 1st quarter of the year while non-TFW related job postings peaked in the 3rd quarter. TFW related job postings that were made in the 1st quarter of the year were made on average 3 months in advance of the LMIA request suggesting a planned use of the TFW Program by employers.
• Businesses did not typically reduce their use of Job Bank over time; and employers who applied to use the TFW program in their first year of posting continued to post TFW related job postings.

1 The term ‘TFW related job posting’ refers to any posting associated with an LMIA application regardless of whether the outcome of the LMIA was positive and the LMIA application was received before or after the posting date. The term ‘TFW job’ refers to a job advertised in a TFW job posting.

2 The ‘Other Services (except Public Administration)’ industry comprises of establishments, not classified to any other sector, primarily engaged in repairing, or performing general or routine maintenance on e.g. motor vehicles; or providing personal care services, funeral services, and other services to individuals.

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