The number of people living in Norway who received state welfare aid last year was up 15 percent over the year before. The actual amount of financial aid was up by 23 percent, with the head of state welfare agency NAV blaming the increases on more challenging economic times and refugee assistance.
“These are high numbers, but unfortunately not so surprising,” NAV director Hans Christian Holte told news bureau NTB on Wednesday. The numbers have increased steadily since 2020, when the Corona crisis also disrupted the job market for many.
Since then Norway has also taken in around 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, after Russia invaded their homeland in 2022. Fully 30 percent of them have found jobs, a relatively high number itself, Holte said, but their overall refugee welfare needs are included in the new NAV numbers.
Labour Minister Tonje Brenna said the government was strengthening measures to help Norwegian residents find jobs. “Those who haven’t found jobs can have a temporary need for help,” Brenna said, “but it’s not meant to be long-term support.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff