OTTAWA (CP) - Statistics Canada says the number of people collecting regular employment insurance benefits fell in May for the fourth consecutive month.
The agency estimates that 483,480 people received regular EI, down 1.6 per cent from April and by 6.4 per cent from May of last year.

Payments this May totalled $606 million.

Except for Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, all provinces recorded declines in May, with the largest drops in Manitoba and Ontario.

In the hot western economy, Alberta and British Columbia recorded their ninth consecutive declines in the number of people collecting EI.

© The Canadian Press, 2006