Expenditure on social assistance 2015 Hannele Tanhua & Sirkka Kiuru Expenditure on Social Assistance / Hannele Tanhua & Sirkka Kiuru

Expenditure on Social Assistance / Hannele Tanhua & Sirkka Kiuru   Social assistance expenditure (in 2015 prices), number of recipient households and annual unemployment average in the whole country, 1990–2015 *= Estimate: double entries (8.6%) have been removed from the number of recipient households based on a national comparison of the annual statistics and the statistics on expenditure in 2014. **= Source: Labour Force Survey 2015, Statistics Finland Expenditure on Social Assistance / Hannele Tanhua & Sirkka Kiuru

Expenditure on Social Assistance / Hannele Tanhua & Sirkka Kiuru Social assistance expenditure remained nearly the same in 2015 as in 2014 In 2015, gross expenditure on social assistance totalled EUR 745.5 million. Social assistance expenditure increased by 0.1 per cent in current prices and by 0.3 per cent in real prices. Social assistance expenditure in current prices increased the most in Åland (13.9%), Central Ostrobothnia and Pirkanmaa (3.6%). Expenditure decreased the most in North Karelia (-7-2%), Lapland and Kainuu(-4.3%). Per-capita expenditure on social assistance was on average €136; being the highest in Uusimaa (€204 per capita) and the lowest in Åland (€60 per capita). In 2015, the number of households receiving social assistance increased by an estimated 3.1 per cent on 2014. Based on aggregate data by municipality, the number of households receiving social assistance in the whole country was estimated at around 261 500.* Social assistance recipiency is closely related to unemployment. Reported unemployment increased from 8.7 per cent in 2014 to 9.4 per cent in 2015. There were on average 252 000 unemployed people in 2015.**   Expenditure on Social Assistance / Hannele Tanhua & Sirkka Kiuru