OTTAWA - Statistics Canada reports that 538,200 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance benefits in December, 25,000 or 4.9 per cent more than in November.
The agency says the number of Canadians receiving regular EI benefits rose by 79,100 between December 2007 and December 2008, a 16.6 per cent increase.
The number of men receiving benefits went up 21.7 per cent while the number of women rose 8.6 per cent.
The number of regular beneficiaries were up in all provinces and territories compared with the same month a year earlier, with the largest increases occurring in British Columbia (33.2 per cent more), Alberta (30.3) and Ontario (29.6).
There were increases in the number of regular beneficiaries in most cities, with London, Ont., suffering the largest at 75.5 per cent, followed by Windsor (61.3), Kitchener (50.9) and Victoria (49.1).
