Fewer Danes on public benefits

Trend occurs despite ongoing rise in SU beneficiaries

Fewer Danes received social benefits in 2015, according to new figures from the national stat keepers Danmarks Statistik.

The statistics revealed that 13,200 fewer Danes received public benefits last year compared to 2014. The trend is down to a fall in the number of the unemployed and a decrease in the number of people who withdraw from the labour market prematurely.

READ MORE: Economist welcomes drop in number of people on public benefits

SU keeps rising
The number of Danes on SU, however, increased once again last year. Since 2008, the group of Danes on SU has increased by 60 percent from 203,400 to 324,600.

But even taking the SU increase in 2015 into account, there were still fewer Danes on public benefits in 2015 compared to the year before.

In total, about 1,088,300 people aged 16-64 are on public benefits in Denmark.