University of Torontos Mowat Centre and Matthew Mendelsohn

Matthew Mendelsohn: There are more than 307,000 jobless Torontonians , according to the latest Statistics Canada figures. Fewer than 55,000 of them are collecting EI in a city with an 8.9 per cent jobless rate, according to The Star. Matthew Mendelsohn, director of the University of Torontos Mowat Centre public policy think tank, says EI is out of step with labour market realities in the countrys biggest cities, leaving tens of thousands of workers without a social safety net and It was a barely noticed peculiarity in the governments latest employment insurance numbers just 17 per cent of unemployed workers in Toronto are collecting EI, among the lowest rates in the citys history as it confronts a higher jobless rate than the provincial and national average. Experts point out that while many of the jobless are chronically unemployed citizens who dont qualify for EI, others are part of an evolving urban labour market that isnt being reflected by Canadas EI system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.