More Canadians filed for Employment Insurance in February than any month since Statistics Canada first began compiling comparable data back in 1997, the agency said Tuesday.

In total, 325,700 new claims were filed, an increase of 51,000 (18.6 per cent) from January.

In its report, Statistics Canada said the actual number of people who received regular EI benefits increased by 44, 300 (7.8 per cent) to 610,200 in February from the month before.

Since October, when unemployment began to slide, the number of regular EI beneficiaries has climbed 21.8 per cent.

"In recent months, labour market conditions in Canada have deteriorated significantly," the report said.

"Through the early part of 2008, employment slowed, and since October has fallen sharply."

The report said the number of regular EI beneficiaries has increased in almost all provinces and territories across Canada.

The biggest percentage gains were in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

In Alberta, the number of regular beneficiaries jumped by 27.3 per cent in February to 30,600 while B.C. saw an 11.6 per cent jump to 63,700.

In Ontario, the 7.8 per cent jump brought the number of EI beneficiaries to 198,900.

Between February 2008 and February 2009, there was a larger increase of men (36.7 per cent) compared with women (20.6 per cent) that received EI.

Canadian employers slashed 82,600 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.7 per cent.

In March, the Canadian economy lost another 61,300 full-time jobs, sending the unemployment rate up to 8 per cent -- the highest in seven years.

In Parliament on Tuesday, Liberal Leader Michael Igantieff said the current EI system is failing Canadians who are losing their jobs.

Ignatieff said that in February, applications for EI shot up by almost 19 per cent, yet the number of unemployed actually receiving benefits rose by only eight per cent.

"What steps will the prime minister (take) to ensure that these laid-off workers get the help that they're entitled to?" asked Igantieff.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Ignatieff to "be careful" about using month-by-month statistics because they do not paint an accurate picture.

Harper added that the government has already extended EI benefits and improved retraining programs so Canadians will be ready for new jobs when the economy recovers.