Employment insurance numbers on rise in Saskatchewan

The number of people receiving employment insurance in Saskatchewan continues to be a lot higher than a year ago, Statistics Canada says.

There were 13,590 people collecting EI in June, an increase of 2,640 from a year ago, according to the federal statistics agency's June report.

That's an increase of 24 per centofbeneficiaries receiving regular income benefits.

That's well belowthe situation in Alberta, where the number of claimants increased 73 per cent from June 2014 to June 2015.

EI claimants in Regina went up 23 per cent from June to June, while in Saskatoon, the figure was just under 33 per cent, StatsCan said.

All figures are seasonally adjusted.

The Saskatchewaneconomy has been slowing down amid a big drop in crude oil prices.

In the spring, the Saskatchewan governmentprojected the price of a barrel ofWest Texas Intermediate crudewould be about US$53 in 2015, but in the pastday, the price has dropped below $42.