The welfare caseload in Hastings County is down for a second straight month.
The social services department says 3,568 people got benefits last month, a decrease of half a per cent from July, but still 21 per cent higher than in August of last year.
The county’s Employment Connection Program helped 173 people with job placements last month, with an average hourly wage of almost ten-and-a-half dollars.
Department director Eric Frye says 60 per cent of the social assistance budget has been spent at 58 per cent of the way through the year.
