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Faced with stubbornly sluggish job growth numbers, Finance Minister Joe Oliver has announced a cut in employment insurance premiums for small businesses.

Businesses that pay up to $15,000 in EI premiums will benefit from the break, which reduces the EI premium[color="red"] from $1.88 per $100 of payroll to $1.60. That is a drop of 15 per cent in EI costs.





Oliver estimates about 780,000 Canadian businesses will benefit from the credit, which takes effect in the 2015 tax year.

“Small businesses drive our prosperity and give back to our communities,” Oliver said, speaking at a small family-owned business in Toronto called Value Wood Products.

He estimated small businesses provide half of private sector jobs.