The Government of Canada will freeze the employment insurance (EI) premium rate for the next three years.
Premiums were set to rise next year.
The government says falling unemployment means the EI operating account is on track to return to balance and the premium rate increases previously projected are no longer necessary.
“Our government is freezing EI rates and leaving $660 million in the pockets of job creators and Canadian workers in 2014 alone, which will help provide the certainty and flexibility employers, especially small businesses, need to keep growing,” says Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty.
The Canadian Federation of Business applauded the move.
“As payroll taxes like EI are particularly challenging for small business, today’s announcement of an EI rate freeze is fantastic news for Canada’s entrepreneurs and their employees,” says Dan Kelly, president of the organization.