OTTAWA -- Statistics Canada says 511,900 people were getting regular employment insurance benefits in August, up 1.5 per cent, or 7,800, from July.

However, the agency says the number of beneficiaries was down 7.8 per cent compared with August 2012.

The majority of provinces saw increases in the number of beneficiaries in August compared with July, most notably Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

The number of regular EI beneficiaries in Alberta rose by 3.6 per cent in August, offsetting a July decline.

There were 2.2 per cent more beneficiaries in British Columbia in August, the first such increase in the province in almost two years.

There were fewer people on the EI rolls in Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, while there was little overall change in New Brunswick.