Statistics Canada’s June data showed a 44.7 per cent drop in employment insurance (EI) claims in Alberta compared to the previous month.
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The number of claims in the province went from 54,740 in May to 30,260 in June, according to data the organization released Thursday.
StatsCan attributed a national decrease in claims to the big change in the province. The decline followed a month-over-month increase of 69.8 per cent in Alberta in May.
While the number of claims dropped, the number of EI beneficiaries in the province was essentially unchanged (-0.8 per cent) at 77,200 in June.
In Edmonton, the number of beneficiaries declined by 2.7 per cent, but rose by 3.5 per cent in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo—attributed to the wildfires in the Fort McMurray region.
StatsCan said on a year-over-year basis, the total number of those receiving EI was up 48 per cent in the province.
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With files from Patrick Cain