According to Statistics Canada, on a year to year basis, the number of people receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits dropped dramatically.

From November 2010 to November 2011, the number of beneficiaries fell in all 25 large centres measured in BC:

•  Kamloops and Vernon saw a decline of 29.4%
• Vancouver was down 28.7%
• Kelowna dropped 26%
• Victoria was 21.7%
• Penticton fell 13.8%.

Nationally, the number of initial and renewal claims edged down 0.8% to 238,300 in November compared to October. While claims fell 4.2% in Ontario, they increased 5.7% in Manitoba and 5.0% in Saskatchewan. There was little or no change in the other provinces.

The number of beneficiaries is a measure of all people who received EI benefits. What the statistics don't reflect is the overall employment situation in Canada.

"If people quit qualifying because they can't get work and they can't re-qualify again, the number's going to drop," says Will Gow from the Career and Business Development Network.

"So is it that reason, or is it less people applying for Employment Insurance."

Gow also noted that employment numbers in northern BC have improved.

"All the areas that are into mining, forestry, oil and gas in BC are going to show a definite drop."

So, while these numbers may represent an improving labour picture across the province, they can also be deceiving.

"The EI numbers only reflect a certain portion of the unemployed," says Gow. "The good thing is, numbers are down, so we can read some positive aspects into that."

There is always a certain proportion of unemployed people who do not qualify for benefits.

Some, because they have not contributed to the program because they have not worked in the past 12 months or their employment is not insured. Other unemployed people have contributed to the program but do not meet the eligibility criteria, such as workers who left their job voluntarily or those who did not accumulate enough hours of work to receive benefits.

Photo: Contributed - Statistics Canada