EI Premium Rate Freeze
EI Premium Rate Freeze
To support Canadian businesses and workers through the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is freezing the EI premium rate for employees at the 2020 level of $1.58 per $100 of insurable earnings for two years. The rate for employers, who pay 1.4 times the employee rate, will also remain unchanged at $2.21 per $100 of insurable earnings.
Under ordinary circumstances, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission sets and announces (on or before September 14 each year) the annual premium rate for the coming year based on the seven-year break-even rate. This is a rate forecast to balance the EI Operating Account over a seven-year horizon, including the elimination of any cumulative surplus or deficit, as forecast by the EI Senior Actuary.
Freezing the premium rate will ensure that employees and employers do not have to pay increased EI premiums in a time of economic uncertainty, and help support job creation as the economy recovers.
Source: Subject to change. Please consult with the Government of Canada website. (Updated August 21, 2020)
