Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs --a multi-pronged plan

by Judith Andrew, EI Commissioner (Employers)

Presentation to the Fisheries Council of CanadaFredericton, New Brunswick

October 8, 2014

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Agenda

1. Mandate of the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC)

2. Labour Market Context

3. Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs (CCAJ)

a. Labour Market Information

b. Strengthening Claimant Obligations

c. Ensuring Canadians are considered before TFWs

4. Other EI Developments

5. EI Financing

6. Re-tooling Training Agreements

Web links

Appendix--data on Fishing Benefits

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1. Mandate of the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC) CEIC is a tri-partite organization responsible for oversight of the EI program.

(Service Canada and ESDC administer the EI program on behalf of the Commission)

Commission makes Regulations, with the approval of the Governor in Council

CEIC reviews and approves policies related to EI program administration and delivery

CEIC holds a legislated mandate to annually monitor and assess the EI program, including employment benefits and support measures ( transfers to provinces for training, etc.), This EI Monitoring and Assessment Report is delivered to the Minister by fiscal year end, for tabling in Parliament

CEIC leads a research agenda in support of the annual EI Monitoring and Assessment Report

CEIC plays a role in financial transparency of the system and in rate setting

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2. Context –Job vacancies highest in science and skills

Source: Jobs Report: The State of the Canadian Labour Market, Department of Finance, Government of Canada, 2014

5Source: Jobs Report: The State of the Canadian Labour Market, Department of Finance, Government of Canada, 2014

2. Context- Demographics worsening labour/skill shortages

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2. Context –Underrepresented groups present opportunity

Source: Jobs Report: The State of the Canadian Labour Market, Department of Finance, Government of Canada, 2014

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2. Context – Enrollments growing, esp. in applied fields

Source: Jobs Report: The State of the Canadian Labour Market, Department of Finance,

Government of Canada, 2014

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3. Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs (CCAJ)

Budget 2012 set out three key Initiatives to match unemployed Canadians with job vacancies:

A. Enhancing labour market information, including new enhanced Job Alerts.

B. Strengthening EI claimants’ obligations by defining reasonable job search and suitable employment.

C. Ensuring Canadians are considered before temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are hired to fill job vacancies.

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A. CCAJ -Enhanced Labour Market Information (LMI) Claimants/job-seekers register their own job search parameters:

skills/occupation; location, etc., using the Job Bank

Job Alerts--up to two emails per day on available job listings—sent to registrants from the Job Bank, and newly from private-sector job boards.

Job seekers have access to labour market information (e.g. expected pay, future prospects) in current and related occupations and more (e.g. career navigator, resume builder, safety)

……………………………………………………………………………………… Employers may advertise openings free of charge at convenience, 24/7

Employers also have access to human resources info (hiring/training, etc.), plus links to forms, services, and program information.

System job matching functionality is being enhanced significantly

IMPROVING LMI IS A MAJOR CURRENT THRUST

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EI claimants have always been required to search for work while on claim.

CCAJ changes “clarified” job search requirements:1. Job search activities

• e.g. preparing resume, searching, applying, interviews, etc.

2. Intensity of search• Daily unless this would be unreasonable

3.Evidence of job search efforts• Claimants must keep records and submit upon request

4. Type of work sought• Consistent with definition of suitable employment

• Suitable employment is defined in relation to six criteria

• Two of the six—type of work and wage-- vary with claimant’s EI history and time spent on claim (chart)

B. CCAJ- Strengthening Claimant Obligations – Job Search

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B. CCAJ -Strengthening Obligations – Suitable Employment

EI Claim Duration including waiting period (weeks)

Cla

iman

t g

rou

ps

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 +

Work that claimants are required to seek and accept

FrequentSimilar occupation 80% of previous earnings

Any work that the claimant is qualified to perform (with on-the-job training if required), 70% of previous earnings

Long-tenuredworkers

Same occupation, 90% of previous earningsSimilar occ., 80% of prev. earnings

OccasionalSame occupation 90% of previous earnings Similar occupation, 80% of previous earnings

Any work, 70% of prev. earnings

* Earnings cannot be lower than the minimum wage effective in the province or territory where employment is being sought

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C. Consider Canadians before Temporary Foreign Workers

Composition of TFW entries prior to recent changes

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C- Consider Canadians before Temporary Foreign Worker Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)

TFWP has been reorganized to cover the stream of foreign workers entering Canada at employers’ request. Such workers must be covered by positive Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs more rigourous than LMOs they replaced)

Key changes include:

Limiting access to the TFWP to ensure Canadians are first in line for available jobs

More and better labour market information for more rigourous screening

Stronger enforcement and tougher penalties Fee increased to $1,000 per foreign worker requested

Note: Wage levels will now replace National Occupational Classification as the main criteria for

administering the TFWP

Criteria include a cap on the percentage of TFWs and transition (to Canadian workforce) plans

Upshot:

Employers seeking to bring in low-wage, low-skilled temporary foreign workers in areas of high unemployment will have much more difficulty justifying their applications.

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C. Consider Canadians before Temporary Foreign WorkerProvincial Nominee Program (PNP)• Immigrants are nominated by a provincial or territorial government

based on regional needs, including those of employers, as well as the nominees’ ability to economically establish themselves.

• Nominees fall under a two categories:

Skilled Immigrants

Business Immigrants (entrepreneurs, special projects, etc.)

• An employer may find the PNP to be useful if wanting to:

hire a foreign worker from outside of Canada;

retain TFW who is already on staff, or

hire an international student who has recently graduated from a Canadian post-secondary institution.

• Note: Each jurisdiction has a cap on allowable provincial nominees

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C. Immigration Canada’s Express Entry

 Key change objectives: 

Improve application management, picking the best, rather than the first candidates in line, while achieving efficiencies and preventing application backlogs Make the system more responsive to the labour market by emphasising candidates matched to employers’ skill needs (in addition to “human capital” considerations)Strengthen the provincial/territorial and employer role with this resource for tapping quality immigrant candidates Improve economic outcomes, so that only immigrant candidates with strong success indicators –according to a comprehensive ranking system--are invited to apply

Note: Candidates with valid job offers or provincial/territorial nominations will enjoy an automatic and guaranteed Invitation to

Apply for permanent residence.

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4. Other EI Developments

Working While on Claim (WWC) Pilot Project

The objective of the pilot project is to help EI claimants stay connected with the labour market by encouraging them to accept work while receiving EI

Beginning August 5, 2012, EI Claimants may keep 50% of their EI benefits for every dollar earned while on claim, up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings used to calculate the EI benefit amount

Under the previous rules, claimants could earn $75 or 40% of their weekly benefits without seeing their EI reduced. Any earnings above that threshold reduced their benefits dollar for dollar.

Some claimants were adversely affected by the change in the pilot project design where little work was available. To assist them, the government announced they could revert to the previous rules under specific circumstances.

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4. Other EI Developments

Variable Best Weeks

Effective April 7, 2013, EI benefits are calculated using the highest weeks of earnings over the last year. The number of weeks used ranges from 14 to 22, geared to the unemployment rate in the particular EI region.

For example:

In regions of high unemployment (more than 13%), the benefit rate is based on the best 14 weeks of earnings over the past 52 weeks

In regions with the lowest unemployment (less than 6%), the benefit rate is based on the best 22 weeks of the past 52 weeks

This permanent national approach is intended to make EI more responsive to changes in local economic conditions and to ensure that those living in similar labour market conditions receive similar benefits

The Variable Best Weeks approach does not apply to self-employed or fishers

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4. Other EI Developments

Access to Sickness Benefits while on Parental Benefits

Effective March 24, 2013, claimants receiving parental benefits no longer have to be available for work to receive sickness benefits and have their benefit period extended by up to 15 weeks.

New Benefit for Parents of Critically ill/injured Children (PCIC)

Effective June 9, 2013, up to 35 weeks of PCIC benefits are available to eligible EI insured workers and to self-employed individuals, who have contributed to EI. The benefit weeks may be shared among eligible parents who are unable to work while providing care or support to one or more children under the age of 18 with a life-threatening illness or injury.

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4. Other EI Developments

Changes to EI economic regions

Changes were made to the EI economic regions in P.E.I. and in all three territories. The capital areas of these jurisdictions are now treated as distinct for the purpose of determining EI eligibility and benefits.

Responsibility for EI Rate-setting

Effective March 7, 2013, the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board Act was suspended and the CEIFB was dissolved. In 2013, legislation was passed to make the CEIC responsible for setting the EI premium rate, beginning with the 2017 premium rate. (The CEIC continues to set the annual maximum insurable earnings). During the interim period until the seven-year rate-setting mechanism takes effect, the Governor-in-Council first set and the Government later legislated the EI premium rate.

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4. Other EI Developments

• Recent Improvements:

Online registration is allowed, and has been improved

ROE user guides have been updated

Web assistant (a.k.a.Wizard) assists with help and automated features

• Key Benefits:

Increases productivity and saves time

Reduces paper burden and provides filing flexibility

Improves the speed and accuracy of reporting and therefore adjudication

• Proposed Future Direction

More options for interactive feedback and assistance

Integration of Assistant Functionalities within the Online Form

Interface Improvements (Navigation, Help, and Guidance Automation)

ROE web

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4. Other EI Developments

Reporting requirements for payroll-related information was identified as a major irritant in the Red Tape Reduction Commission Report.

•e-Payroll raises the possibility of the GoC and businesses sharing the existing flow of electronic payroll information.

•It focuses on collecting the information needed by government once through regular periodic transmission of earnings data that aligns with employer payroll data and cycles, rather than several times, in several different formats with duplicated data.

• Early discussions with various players, including associations such as FCC, show potential benefits of e-payroll, such as reduced burden for employers, citizens and government, as well as improving EI program integrity.

•Proof of Concept (Research phase) started in June 2014 and will end November 2014.

E-Payroll

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5. EI Financing

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Government Commitment to Hold EI Premium Rates for 3 years at 2013 Level

Source: ESDC

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5. EI Financing

EI Premium Rates Over Time

Source: 2014 Federal Budget Papers

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5. New Small Business Job Credit • Announced September 11, 2014, the new Small Business Job Credit is expected to save

90% of all EI premium-paying businesses in Canada more than $550 million (almost 15% EI payroll tax relief) over the next two years

• Since employers pay 1.4 times what employees pay, this 28-cent reduction in the legislated rate is equivalent to a reduction of 39 cents per $100 of insurable earnings in EI premiums paid by small employers

• The Canada Revenue Agency will automatically calculate the credit on a business’ return, ensuring no new red tape/paper burden is imposed

• All employers are to benefit from a substantial reduction in the EI premium rate in 2017, when the seven-year break-even rate-setting mechanism takes effect. The objective is to ensure that EI premiums are no higher than needed to pay for the EI program over time

• This new credit came as welcome news, since the previous Hiring Credit for Small Business was not renewed, nor mentioned in Budget 2014

Planned EI rates (per $100 in insurable earnings) 2014 2015-16 2017 Employee rate $1.88 $1.88 $1.47 Effective rate incl. Small Business Job Credit $2.63 $2.24 $2.06 General employer rate $2.63 $2.63 $2.06

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6. Re-tooling Training Agreements

Under the Canada Job Fund (CJF) agreements, provinces/territories (P/Ts) design and deliver programs to meet local labour market needs (i.e. involving employers) along three main funding streams:

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6. Re-Tooling Training Agreements

Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) under review The Government of Canada has signaled to the provinces/territories that it

intends to re-tool LMDAs—agreements on the transfer of some $2 billion of EI payroll taxes to provinces and territories (P/Ts) for employment benefits and support measures.

The Minister, his Parliamentary Secretary, and a Parliamentary Committee (HUMA) have conducted consultations with employer and employee stakeholders who foot the bill for LMDAs through their EI premiums, as well as with other interested groups. Commissioners have also been reaching out to their stakeholders.

Key themes are emerging: achieving greater employer engagement, reaching more people and sooner, strengthening program accountability and effectiveness and focusing EI funds on the most successful programs and services

Input is welcome!

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Questions? Temporary Foreign Worker Program http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_workers/index.shtml

Immigration Canada’s Express Entry http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/express-entry.asp 

Job Bank and Working in Canada http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/intro-eng.aspx

EI Changeshttp://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/ei/ccaj/vignettes.shtml

E-ROE (incl. online registration for Records of Employment)http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/services/ei/employers/roe/web/index.shtml

Canada Job Granthttp://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/training_agreements/cjf/index.shtml

Canada Employment Insurance Commission: http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/ei/commission/index.shtml

Judith Andrew, Commissioner (Employers) judith.andrew@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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Appendix

EI Fishing Benefits

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EI Fishing Benefits Compared

• In 2012/13, the number of new fishing claims decreased by 4.1%, to 28,290 new claims (see Chart 33). Along with a decrease in the number of fishing claims, fishing benefits paid to self-employed fishers fell by 2.5% (-6.4 million) in 2012/13

• The average weekly fishing benefit increased by 2.9%, from $439 in 2011/12 to $452 in 2012/13. With this increase, the average weekly benefit for fishing claims was $57 higher than that for regular claims ($395).

• The proportion of fishing claimants who received the maximum weekly benefit increased from 78.1% in 2011/12 to 78.8% in 2012/13. This proportion is much higher than the proportion of regular claimants who received the maximum weekly benefit (41.6% in 2012/13).

• In 2012/13, EI fishing benefits comprised 1.7% of total EI income benefits, the same proportion as in previous year.

Source: CEIC, Monitoring and Assessment Report 2012/13

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EI Fishing Benefits

EI Fishing Claims and Benefits 

Source: CEIC, Monitoring and Assessment Report 2012/13