Little change in Canadian jobless claims

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OTTAWA, July 19 (UPI) -- The number of unemployed Canadians receiving federal jobless benefits was little changed on a monthly basis in May at 512,600, Statistics Canada reported.

The number of Employment Insurance recipients was 1,100 fewer than April as the national unemployment rate remained at 7.3 percent in May.

In the most populous province of Ontario, the number of beneficiaries edged down 0.9 percent to 148,200 in May, following a substantial decline in April, the report said.

"In Alberta, the number of people receiving regular EI benefits decreased 2.3 percent to 24,000, continuing a downward trend that began in January 2012," StatsCan said.

On an annual basis, the number of people receiving regular jobless benefits fell 13.6 percent, the agency said.