Social assistance, 2003

The law regarding benefits to recently arrived refugees and immigrants was introduced as a voluntary arrangement for the local authorities on 1 September 2003. As a result, the questionnaire for social assistance was altered in order to include recipients of this new type of benefit. As the benefit was introduced late in the year and many local authorities had not changed their reporting system it is not possible to distinguish between recipients of ordinary social assistance and recipients of the new benefit, and as a result comparisons with previous years are uncertain.

The main picture is stable

The 135 380 social assistance recipients (including benefits to refugees and immigrants) in 2003, received NOK 5 billion, or almost NOK 7 300 per month. This is an increase of 6 per cent from 2002. The average payment per year was NOK 37 000 and the average recipient was on benefit for five months - approximately on level with 2002.

Although the number of social assistance recipients increased last year, their share of the population was approximately the same as in 2002, at 5 per cent. Many recipients of social assistance have children and a spouse. If we include these, approximately 222 900 people received social assistance for a shorter or longer period in 2003.

The age pattern among social assistance recipients has not changed much in the past years, and the largest group of recipients are aged 30-39 years. Although this is the largest group among social assistance recipients, the highest share of the population is found in the age group 20-24 years.

Finnmark has the highest portion

For several years Finnmark county has had the highest number of social assistance cases in relation to the population. This is also the case in 2003, as Finnmark has 47 cases per 1 000 inhabitants. Akershus county, on the other hand, has the lowest number of social assistance cases in relation to the population, with 23 cases per 1 000 inhabitants.

The percentage of social assistance cases increases with population size. On average, municipalities with more than 50 000 inhabitants have 36 cases per 1 000 inhabitants, while the corresponding figure for municipalities with less than 5 000 inhabitants is 29.

Social services staff

At year-end 2003, 4 965 job positions were registered in social services. This only includes positions related to traditional social services tasks such as advice, consultations, preventive work and work related to substance abusers. If we include positions related to job creation programmes the figure increases to 5 640.

Almost half of the employees in social services were professional staff. 52 per cent of the positions were filled by social workers, child welfare officers or nurses for the mentally subnormal.

Large differences still exist between counties, but the average ratio of employees per 1 000 adults (aged 18 and above) was 1.4 full-time equivalents per 1 000 adults in 2003. With respect to the ratio of employees in social services Oslo has the best coverage, with 2.4 full-time equivalents per 1 000 adults. Møre og Romsdal and Nord-Trøndelag have the lowest staffing, with 0.9 full-time equivalents per 1 000 adults.

Tables:

• Table 1 Number of cases on social assistance, by age, county and size of municipality. 1987-2003
• Table 2 Expenditure on social assistance, by nature of assistance, county and size of municipality. 1987-2003. NOK in 2003
• Table 3 Average payments of social assistance per month on assistance. Figures of duration of benefit and family cycle phase. 2003
• Table 4 Recipients of social assistance, by duration of benefit and family cycle phase. 2003
• Table 5 Recipients of social assistance, by number of municipalities from which they have received payments and age. 2003
• Table 6 Recipients of social assistance, by main source of income and family cycle phase. 2003
• Table 7 Recipients of social assistance, by labour force status and family cycle phase. 2003
• Table 8 Recipients of social assistance, by type of allowance and family cycle phase. 2003
• Table 9 Recipients of social assistance, by country background and age. 2003
• Table 10 Man-years in social services per 31 December, by county. 2003