Social Policy Trends – The Trade-Off Between Employment and Social Assistance Caseloads, Alberta, 2005-2017

THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE CASELOADS, ALBERTA, 2005-2017As employment falls, social assistance caseloads typically rise. Caseloads have recently increased considerably more than in the past, which may suggest a new trendSocial assistance is part of a social safety net that “catches” individuals who have lost their jobs. In this issue of Social Policy Trends we plot monthly data on the number of employed persons per 100 adults aged 15-64 years, versus the number of social assistance caseloads in the same age bracket, from April 2005 to April 2017. Our attention is restricted to social assistance cases defined by the provincial government as “expected to work (ETW)” cases. Such cases are established for those who are either employable persons temporarily out of work, or adults whose market income is insufficient to meet their basic needs