The Federal government reported a C$4.36 billion ($4.13 billion) budget deficit in Canada for November after claiming a surplus a year earlier, as jobless benefit payouts rose and tax receipts squeezed.

The country witnesses its deficit in the first eight months of the fiscal year that began April 1 as C$36.3 billion, the finance department revealed in a report issued today in Ottawa. The federal government in November 2008 had a monthly surplus of C$96 million and an eight-month surplus of C$39 million.

The major spark for the shortfall is cited to have triggered from a combination of the weak and unstable economy bringing down tax revenues and money spent through economic-stimulus measures, the Department of Finance quoted.

The Finance Department said debt-service charges were down about $200-million as a result of lower interest rates.

Also, the tax revenues for the fiscal year as of November were down 11.9% to $135.6-billion, propelling a fall across most revenue streams. While, personal income taxes were down 7.8%, while corporate income taxes were down by 36.8%.

However, program spending witnessed a 15% rise in November from a year earlier to C$18.7 billion, triggered by a 57% jump in unemployment payouts. The number of people fetching regular jobless benefits peaked at 829,300 in June, and fell to 795,940 in November, Statistics Canada said today.