One in ten income supplement beneficiaries in Helsinki have jobs
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The earned income of many residents of the Helsinki region is not enough to cover monthly expenses. According to last year's statistics, nine percent of people receiving income supplements were employed.
In practice, the percentage is even larger than this, since the figures do not take into account all of the people working part-time or students, who constitute about ten percent of the beneficiaries.
Tax evaders who earn benefits fraudulently do not appear in the statistics, but the number of people receiving income supplements on false premises has decreased, thanks to cooperation among the authorities.
In Espoo, about five percent of people receiving income supplements are employed.
In Vantaa, the number is higher than in Helsinki or Espoo – about 14 percent – but the number of students may raise the total figure close to one-fifth.
In Järvenpää over one-fifth of income supplement recipients are employed.
In Helsinki income supplements amounted to EUR 2,111 per client per year. In Järvenpää, Kerava, and Nurmijärvi, about 14 percent of all households received maintenance grants.
In Järvenpää, the amount of support was EUR 2,371 per household annually, while in Nurmijärvi, Kerava, and Tuusula the sum was one-fourth smaller. However, the difference in income between communities in Southern Finland is minimal.
"We have many income supplement applicants with no income, who do not receive unemployment benefits. Nobody has promoted subsidised employment schemes in Järvenpää. The relatively high number of employed people receiving income supplement assistance may be a result of the way in which grants are calculated. If neighbouring communities would use the same methods, the result could be the same", Virva Juurikkala, Järvenpää's leading social worker, explains.
"We urge people to take part-time jobs, but our clients think that the bureaucracy jungle involving job and support issues is still hard to navigate", Juurikkala says.
In Helsinki, the city's expenditures stemming from income supplements last year were eight percent lower than in 2004. Ten years ago, over 55,000 households received assistance due to the recession at the time. Last year the number of households receiving the benefits was 36,792. Helsinki also had fewer new customers than the previous year.
According to Leila Palviainen, head of Helsinki's social and economic support services, the work of her department has focused on new clients. "Income supplements can become a road that people get stuck on - especially for young people. Support should not be a source of livelihood, and we try to steer people to being more active."
Helsinki has also undergone administrative changes. Two years ago, there were 23 offices dealing with social services. Starting last year, the number has decreased to nine. This has standardised procedures and the granting of support.
There have been problems in the process for seeking income supplement benefits, especially in Espoo. Last year it took from five weeks to two months to get a decision. According to the social services' service director Marja-Leena Remes, this has gone down to between five and ten days. In Helsinki, applications are handled in about a week.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 6.6.2006 - TODAY |
 One in ten income supplement beneficiaries in Helsinki have jobs |
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