Employment insurance recipients up 18% in Saskatchewan

Close to 2,000 more Saskatchewan people are collecting employment insurance benefits compared to a year ago, Statistics Canada says.

The number of workers collecting regular benefits increased about 18 per cent from May 2014 to May 2015, the federal agency said in a report Thursday.

The total change over the year was 1,960.

Meanwhile, there's been an even bigger jump of EI recipients in Alberta. There, the May-to-May numbers increased by just over 60 per cent.

Both provinces have between struggling through a slowdown in the oilpatch amid low crude prices.

Just looking at the change from April to May, the numbers jumped 10 per cent in Alberta and about 1 per cent in Saskatchewan.

There were 12,800 people collecting EI in Saskatchewan in May, the report said.

All figures are seasonally adjusted.