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The flood of Albertans collecting Employment Insurance last year could turn into a spring torrent as severance packages expire for people who’ve lost their jobs, city economist John Rose warns.

The number of EI beneficiaries in the province doubled to 62,480 in December from 31,220 in December 2014, a far greater jump than happened anywhere else in Canada, says new data from Statistics Canada.

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That figure will likely grow worse as buyout packages and severance pay provided to workers laid off during the downturn run out, Rose said Thursday.

“There’s no doubt that as people come off various benefit programs, they will be tumbling into the EI system,” he said. “We will see a significant increase over the next few months.”

Edmonton also saw the number of EI beneficiaries double, to 20,690 by the end of last year, compared to 10,810 the previous December.

But the system doesn’t help everyone, Rose said. Many contractors and young workers either aren’t part of the program or haven’t been employed long enough to qualify.

“The eligibility rate is higher and the period you get benefits for is shorter. It’s kind of a double whammy,” he said.

“My concern is that we haven’t really seen the full impact of layoffs in terms of consumer spending and defaults on things like mortgages and car loans … That’s going to bite in the next months.”