OTTAWA -- Government spending documents show employment insurance fraud has hit a five-year high.

Public accounts documents released this month list more than 104,000 incidents of fraudulent EI claims totalling almost $177 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

It is the fourth-year figures have increased -- a sign for federal officials that efforts to root out wrongful payments are working.

Employment and Social Development Canada says the department's fraud-sleuthing tools have improved its ability to find and deal with fraud.

Generally, the government finds it more difficult to recoup funds if fraud or overpayment is detected later.

They expect to eventually collect $132.8 million of wrongful payments and anticipate writing off about $74,000.