Carl DeLine

The number of welfare cases in Calgary has dropped 2,200 since April–the largest drop that welfare officials can recall.

“I don’t believe we’ve had a drop like that before,” said Bob Scott, spokesman for Alberta Social Services.

During September the number of welfare cases was 20,461, a drop of 627 from the previous month. The last major drop was in July when 1,000 cases were taken off the welfare lists.

Welfare figures rose to 22,682 in April, but have since spiraled downwards by 2,221 cases.

Last year at this time there were only 78 fewer welfare cases.

“That’s really unusual. It’s usually up thousands a year later,” said Scott.

Scott said there were a number of factors which helped to take people off welfare last month.

Some students who were on welfare went back to school with student loans. The province’s new work-for-welfare program helped some find jobs and many service jobs are surfacing in relation to the Olympics in February, he said.

Construction is also up, said Scott.

Overall “there has been a general reduction in applications,” he added. “People who are exhausting their UIC are finding work right away.”

Scott said of the 627 fewer files last month, 487 of them were employable.

However, Carl DeLine of the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank said that during the last five to six months the number of hampers given out has been slowly on the rise.

Last month the food bank gave out 1,324 hampers.

Originally published October 2, 1987 by the Calgary Herald (Calgary, AB), credited to Carol Howes.