Majority of welfare recipients white, non-urban, study reveals

Jet, Oct 7, 1996

Most people who depend on welfare are White and live in suburbs or rural areas, a recent study shows. The findings are contrary to the popular belief that most welfare recipients are unemployed, inner-city minorities whose families have gotten public assistance for generations.

The study reveals that Whites make up 48 percent of the poor, followed by Blacks, 22 percent, and Hispanics, 22 percent. The information for the study was compiled from 1994 Census data, and the study was conducted by Population Reference Bureau, an independent group.

Welfare recipients was not the only "myth of poverty, challenged by the study. The study also notes:

* Not all poor people remain on public assistance for years. One out of three people living below the poverty line will rise above the line within 12 months.

* The poor are not anti-work. About 10 percent of the nation's poor are children under legal working age and 10 percent are over U.

* Fewer than half of the nation's poor receive cash benefits from the government. Most who do receive government assistance would have difficulty making ends meet with the amount of money they receive.

* Nearly 40 percent of the poor have in families headed by a single woman; 34 percent live in two-parent homes.