Hours and weeks
Two tables decide the shape of a regular EI claim: the hours table (how many insurable hours you need to qualify) and the weeks table (how many weeks of benefits those hours earn you). Both tables turn on the same input — the unemployment rate in your EI economic region — and both are set by the Employment Insurance Act, so they do not change from year to year the way the dollar maximums do. What changes monthly is your region's rate, which is why the same worker can need different hours depending on when and where they claim.
Your qualifying period is normally the 52 weeks before your claim (or since your last claim, if that is shorter). If you could not work for part of that period because of illness, injury, quarantine, or pregnancy, the period can be extended by those weeks, up to 104 weeks in total. Hours worked in insurable employment during the qualifying period count; hours from a job you left without just cause, or were dismissed from for misconduct, generally do not help you qualify.
- Hours needed: 700 where the regional rate is 6% or less, falling to 420 where it is above 13% (see the full table below).
- Weeks payable: 14 to 45, from Schedule I of the Employment Insurance Act, by hours and regional rate.
- Benefit period: 52 weeks from the start of your claim. Regular + special benefits combined: maximum 50 weeks (extended-parental exception).
- Your region's rate is locked in when your claim starts and does not change during the claim, even if the published rate moves.
The hours table (Employment Insurance Act, s. 7)
| Regional unemployment rate | Hours of insurable employment needed |
|---|---|
| 6% and under | 700 |
| More than 6%, up to 7% | 665 |
| More than 7%, up to 8% | 630 |
| More than 8%, up to 9% | 595 |
| More than 9%, up to 10% | 560 |
| More than 10%, up to 11% | 525 |
| More than 11%, up to 12% | 490 |
| More than 12%, up to 13% | 455 |
| More than 13% | 420 |
One important exception: if you accumulated a violation in the 260 weeks before your claim (for example, a previous overpayment from misrepresentation), the hours requirement rises — at 6% or less, a minor violation raises it to 875 hours, a serious violation to 1,050, a very serious violation to 1,225, and a subsequent violation to 1,400. Special benefits for employees need a flat 600 hours, regardless of region. And if you are claiming for the first time or returning after a long absence, the same hours table applies — there is no separate "new entrant" hours rule for regular benefits under the current Act, although the weeks table still rewards longer work histories.
The weeks table (Schedule I) — sample rows
The full Schedule I table has dozens of rows; the sample below shows how it works. Find your hours row and your region's rate column, and the cell is your weeks of regular benefits. A zero means you do not qualify at that combination — which is exactly what the hours table already told you: with 420 hours you only qualify where unemployment is above 13%.
| Insurable hours | 6% or less | 9.1% to 10% | More than 16% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 420 to 454 | 0 (not eligible) | 0 (not eligible) | 32 |
| 700 to 734 | 14 | 22 | 36 |
| 1,050 to 1,084 | 19 | 27 | 41 |
| 1,400 to 1,434 | 24 | 32 | 45 |
| 1,820 or more | 36 | 44 | 45 |
Two patterns are worth noticing. First, more hours always help, but with diminishing returns: the table caps at 45 weeks, so beyond about 1,820 hours in a high-unemployment region, extra hours add nothing. Second, the region matters as much as the hours: the same 1,400 hours earn 24 weeks where unemployment is low and 45 weeks where it is high. Service Canada publishes the regional rates monthly and assigns your region from your postal code; the rate in force on the Sunday of the week your claim starts is the one that counts.
The 52-week benefit period
Once your claim starts, you have 52 weeks to use your weeks of benefits. You do not have to use them consecutively: weeks when you work full-time, are unavailable, or are outside Canada generally do not use up entitlement, but they do consume calendar time in the benefit period. If you reach the end of the 52 weeks with weeks unused, they expire — you cannot carry them into a new claim, and a new claim needs a fresh qualifying period with fresh hours. The one extension that matters: if you receive special benefits only (no regular benefits) and more than one type, the benefit period can be extended up to 104 weeks, with up to 102 weeks of combined special benefits payable.
Sources to check: Employment Insurance Act, s. 7 (hours table) and Schedule I (weeks table); Service Canada, EI regular benefit — How much could you receive (weeks table); Canada.ca, EI economic regions and regional rates of unemployment.