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The number of Albertans receiving regular employment insurance benefits has nearly doubled from a year ago, says Statistics Canada.

It said the Calgary-area beneficiaries in September rose by 95 per cent, or 9,140 people, from September 2014. On a monthly basis, recipients rose by 1,340, or 7.7 per cent, from August.

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Provincially, the number of EI recipients was up 99 per cent, or 28,830 people, from a year earlier. For the month, the number of recipients increased by 4,860, or 9.1 per cent.

The largest increases came from people working in the categories of trades, transport and equipment operations (+13.3 per cent), and business, finance and administrative occupations (+10.4 per cent), the federal agency said.

Todd Hirsch, chief economist with ATB Financial, said employment in the resources sector has plunged by 32,300 since September 2014, a decline of more than 17 per cent.

From its recent peak to last month, total earnings in the province’s resource sector have dropped by about 25 per cent from just over $400 million per week to just over $300 million per week, he said.

Across Canada, the number of EI beneficiaries rose by 6,080 people, or 1.1 per cent, from August and was also up 8.3 per cent, or 41,600 people, year-over-year.

The number of EI claims declined by three per cent across the country and it provides an indication of the number of people who could become beneficiaries, said StatsCan. EI claims decreased 2.5 per cent in Alberta.

The change in the number of regular EI beneficiaries includes people who start collecting benefits, people going back to work, and people whose EI has run out.

mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com

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