The number of households receiving general housing allowance decreased from the previous year but is still higher than before the COVID-19 outbreak
At the end of December, 123,000 households received general housing allowance in the Helsinki region, which is 2 per cent less than in the previous year. The number of households receiving general housing allowance was 67,900 in Helsinki (-3% compared with the previous year), 21,100 in Espoo (-0.4%), 19,800 in Vantaa (-3%), 13,800 in Kuuma municipalities (-3%) and 382,200 in the whole country (-2%).
From spring 2020 to late summer 2021, the number of housing allowance recipients was clearly higher than in the corresponding period before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019. During the COVID-19 epidemic, the need for general housing allowance increased mainly due to the weakened employment situation. Although the number of beneficiaries has decreased from the peak it reached during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for support is still slightly higher than before the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it looks like the increase in food and energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine has not increased the number of recipients of general housing allowance.