How Many Hours Do You Need for EI? (420–700 by Region)

How the hours requirement works

EI regular benefits are for people who lose their job through no fault of their own. Before anything else, you need enough insurable hours: the hours you were paid for in insurable employment, added up across all your jobs.

Those hours are counted in your qualifying period. That is generally the 52 weeks before your claim starts, or the time since your last claim started if that is shorter. In some situations, such as periods when you could not work, it can be extended up to 104 weeks.

The number of hours you need is not the same across Canada. It depends on the unemployment rate in the EI economic region where you live (where you normally reside, not where your employer is). Statistics Canada data is used to set each region's rate, and Service Canada updates the rates every 4 weeks. Whatever rate applies when your benefit period starts is locked in for that claim. To see your region's current rate and hours requirement, check the regions page.

The hours table by regional unemployment rate

This is the requirement set out in section 7 of the Employment Insurance Act, in effect for claims in 2026. The higher your region's unemployment, the fewer hours you need.

Each step is 35 hours, which is roughly one full-time week. Meeting the minimum gets you through the door. Your hours also decide how many weeks you can collect, which is covered in how long you can collect EI.

Worked examples

These examples use the 2026 table above. Your region's actual rate is on the regions page.

• Part-time, 20 hours a week for 30 weeks. 20 × 30 = 600 hours. That meets the 595-hour requirement in a region above 8%, but not the 630 hours needed in a region between 7% and 8%. Same job, different answer depending on where you live.
• Full-time, 37.5 hours a week for 20 weeks. 37.5 × 20 = 750 hours. That is more than 700, so it qualifies in every region in 2026.
• Short contract, 35 hours a week for 13 weeks. 35 × 13 = 455 hours. That only qualifies in regions where unemployment is above 12%.
• Two jobs. 300 hours at a café plus 380 hours at a warehouse is 680 hours. Hours from both jobs count, as long as both were insurable. That qualifies everywhere except regions at 6% or under, where 700 hours are needed.

What counts, and what doesn't

Your hours come from your Records of Employment (ROEs). Each employer reports the insurable hours you were paid for. Check every ROE: missing or wrong hours are a common reason a claim falls short. See ROE explained.

• Counts: paid hours in insurable employment with any employer during the qualifying period, including part-time, casual and contract jobs.
• Doesn't count for regular benefits: self-employment, and work that is not insurable employment. Self-employed people who opt in can only get special benefits, never regular benefits (see opting in as self-employed).
• Only the qualifying period counts: because the qualifying period stops where your last claim started, hours already used for a previous claim can't be counted again, and hours older than the qualifying period don't carry over.
• Special benefits are different: sickness, maternity, parental and caregiving benefits need 600 insurable hours in the last 52 weeks, regardless of region. See EI sickness benefits.

When the rules shift

Past violations. If you had a violation on an earlier EI claim, you may need more hours, up to 1,400 in a region at 6% or under.

Why you left each job. Normally, Service Canada can look at every job you left during the qualifying period. Quitting without just cause or being let go for misconduct can make you ineligible. Under a temporary measure, for claims starting between October 11, 2026, and October 9, 2027, only your most recent reason for separation is reviewed; if that last job ended through no fault of your own, hours from earlier jobs in the qualifying period can count too. This measure is temporary, so check canada.ca for its current dates. See quit, fired or laid off.

Without work and pay. Besides hours, you must have been without work and without pay for at least 7 days in a row, and you must be ready, willing and able to work and looking for a job.

If you're close, apply anyway

Estimates can be off by a few hours, and only Service Canada makes the decision. If you think you are close, don't wait to gather more hours or to receive your ROE. If you apply more than 4 weeks after your last day of work, you may lose benefits. You can apply on canada.ca and send documents afterward.

The MyEI eligibility checker compares your hours with your region's requirement and flags the most common risks, such as the reason you left.

For a decision on your own claim, only Service Canada can tell you: call 1-800-206-7218 or start at canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei.html. MyEI is an independent information and estimate tool and is not affiliated with Service Canada or the Government of Canada.