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Abstract
I denne artikkelen undersøker vi om de økte levekostnadene i løpet av 2022 har ført til en økning i antall sosialhjelpsmottakere i løpet av året. I 2022 var det i gjennomsnitt 1,2 prosent av befolkningen i alderen 18-89 år som mottok sosialhjelp en gitt måned (sosialhjelpsprosenten). I perioden fra 2010 til 2022 er hovedbildet at 2022 var ett av årene med lav andel mottakere av økonomisk sosialhjelp. Når vi undersøker utviklingen måned for måned, ser vi at andelen mottakere av sosialhjelp var lav i starten av 2022, men med en betydelig økning mot slutten av året. I 4. kvartal 2022 hadde antallet mottakere økt med 0,2 prosentpoeng sammenlignet med 4. kvartal 2021, noe som utgjør en relativ økning på 17 prosent. Nesten hele økningen skyldes mange mottakere av sosialhjelp blant nyankomne flyktninger fra Ukraina. I desember 2022 var det omtrent 7 000 flyktninger fra Ukraina som mottok sosialhjelp, noe som utgjør 11 prosent av alle mottakere den måneden. I resten av befolkningen utenom flyktninger fra Ukraina, hadde andelen med sosialhjelp også økt noe i 4. kvartal 2022, men bare med 4 prosent fra et lavt nivå i 2021. Vi undersøker også om de økte levekostnadene har ført til at flere mottakere av statlige trygdeytelser må supplere med sosialhjelp fordi trygden ikke lengre strekker til. Vi finner en tendens til en liten økning i andelen med supplerende sosialhjelp blant mottakere av arbeidsavklaringspenger og uføretrygd mot slutten av 2022. Det er en større økning i andelen med supplerende sosialhjelp blant dagpengemottakere. Samtidig er det et historisk lavt antall mottakere av dagpenger, og økningen i andelen med supplerende sosialhjelp skyldes trolig også endringer i gruppesammensetningen. At vi ikke ser en større økning i andelen mottakere av sosialhjelp kan blant annet forklares med et svært godt arbeidsmarked i 2022, med lav arbeidsledighet og høyeste andel sysselsatte siden 2009. Blant sysselsatte er andelen mottakere av sosialhjelp lav, og i denne gruppen det ingen tegn til økning i andelen med supplerende sosialhjelp mot slutten av 2022.
In this article, we examine whether the increased cost of living during 2022 has led to an increase in the number of social assistance recipients throughout the year. In 2022, on average, 1.2 percent of the population aged 18-89 received social assistance in a given month (the social assistance rate). From 2010 to 2022, the main picture is that 2022 was one of the years with a low proportion of economic social assistance recipients. When we examine the development month by month, we see that the proportion of social assistance recipients was low at the beginning of 2022, but with a significant increase towards the end of the year. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of recipients had increased by 0.2 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, which represents a relative increase of 17 percent.. Almost the entire increase is due to many social assistance recipients among newly arrived refugees from Ukraine. In December 2022, there were about 7,000 refugees from Ukraine receiving social assistance, which constitutes 11 percent of all recipients that month. In the rest of the population excluding refugees from Ukraine, the proportion receiving social assistance also increased somewhat in the 4th quarter of 2022, but only by 4 percent from a low level in 2021. We also examine whether the increased cost of living has led to more recipients of state welfare benefits having to supplement with social assistance because the welfare benefit payments have become insufficient. We find a tendency towards a small increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance among recipients of work assessment allowance and disability pension towards the end of 2022. There is a larger increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance among recipients of unemployment benefits. At the same time, there is a historically low number of unemployment benefit recipients, and the increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance is probably also due to changes in the composition of the group. The fact that we do not see a larger increase in the proportion of social assistance recipients can be partly explained by a very good labor market in 2022, with low unemployment and the highest proportion of employed since 2009. Among the employed, the proportion of social assistance recipients is low, and in this group there are no signs of an increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance towards the end of 2022.
In this article, we examine whether the increased cost of living during 2022 has led to an increase in the number of social assistance recipients throughout the year. In 2022, on average, 1.2 percent of the population aged 18-89 received social assistance in a given month (the social assistance rate). From 2010 to 2022, the main picture is that 2022 was one of the years with a low proportion of economic social assistance recipients. When we examine the development month by month, we see that the proportion of social assistance recipients was low at the beginning of 2022, but with a significant increase towards the end of the year. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of recipients had increased by 0.2 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, which represents a relative increase of 17 percent.. Almost the entire increase is due to many social assistance recipients among newly arrived refugees from Ukraine. In December 2022, there were about 7,000 refugees from Ukraine receiving social assistance, which constitutes 11 percent of all recipients that month. In the rest of the population excluding refugees from Ukraine, the proportion receiving social assistance also increased somewhat in the 4th quarter of 2022, but only by 4 percent from a low level in 2021. We also examine whether the increased cost of living has led to more recipients of state welfare benefits having to supplement with social assistance because the welfare benefit payments have become insufficient. We find a tendency towards a small increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance among recipients of work assessment allowance and disability pension towards the end of 2022. There is a larger increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance among recipients of unemployment benefits. At the same time, there is a historically low number of unemployment benefit recipients, and the increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance is probably also due to changes in the composition of the group. The fact that we do not see a larger increase in the proportion of social assistance recipients can be partly explained by a very good labor market in 2022, with low unemployment and the highest proportion of employed since 2009. Among the employed, the proportion of social assistance recipients is low, and in this group there are no signs of an increase in the proportion with supplementary social assistance towards the end of 2022.