Canada's jobless claims down in April

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OTTAWA, June 21 (UPI) -- There were 513,700 Canadians receiving federal jobless benefits in April, a monthly decline of 5.3 percent, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

That represents a decrease of 28,600 recipients who either found work or whose eligibility expired.

With the exception of Prince Edward Island, the number of recipients of Employment Insurance declined in the other nine provinces, the agency said.

The province of Quebec recorded the highest decrease of 7 percent, followed by the most populous province of Ontario with a 6.7 percent reduction in beneficiaries, the same rate as Alberta for the month.

Canada's national unemployment rate in April was 7.3 percent.