the number of beneficiaries decreasing by 1.8%, a first since 2008

The number of beneficiaries of social minima in France decreased by 1.8% between 2015 and 2016, a decline that is a first since the crisis of 2008, according to a study of the Ministry of Social Affairs released Friday. This decline is largely due to a 4.3% decrease in the number of beneficiaries of the RSA, a benefit "particularly sensitive to the situation of the labor market," says the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

76,000 fewer recipients, according to the Drees. In total, at the end of 2016, some 4,061 million people were receiving a social benefit, compared to 4,136 a year earlier, or "76,000 fewer beneficiaries", summarizes the Drees. These figures do not include the beneficiaries of two social minima, the ATA (temporary waiting allowance) and the ADA (asylum seeker allowance) because these two services make problematic the comparisons of a year on the other – due to the partial replacement of the ATA by the ADA at the end of 2015, and the absence of data on the ADA at that time

"An improvement of the labor market". The number of beneficiaries of the Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA, paid to unemployed workers who had terminated their entitlements) also fell by 3.9% to 454,200, which shows "an improvement in the labor market during the year, "according to the Drees. In addition, a quarter of those who received the RSA and the HSO at the end of 2015 were out of these devices a year later, reports the Drees, which states that "half of the beneficiaries of the RSA out of minima do not return the same. next five years ", this proportion rising to two-thirds for SSA

" Significant integration difficulties "for persons with disabilities. Between 2008 and 2013, the number of recipients of the RSA "basement" (minimum income for people without resources) and SSA had increased sharply with an average of 6.5% per year over the period. The study notes, however, the "significant integration difficulties" for people with disabilities: the number of beneficiaries of the allowance for adults with disabilities (AAH) continued to increase, + 2.6% (against +2.3 % on average since 2016). And only 6% of recipients of this benefit "come out of the minimum from one end of the year to the next".

11% of the French population is covered by the social minima. In total, some 7 million people, taking children and spouses into account, are covered by the social minimums, which is 11% of the French population, according to the Drees. In the overseas departments and regions, this rate rises to about a third.