More people are coming to the Island's charities for help but people are able to give less.

And it is feared that the situation will get worse as people and businesses feel the ongoing effects of the recession.

Major Doug Lewis, of the Salvation Army, said the number of people requesting Christmas hampers has increased by 20 percent this year.

"Last year we gave out around 1,200, this year we're looking at 1,400 to 1,500," he said. "The problem is the economy, which means need is up and donations are down."

This year, he said donations had dropped off by around six percent. "When you're looking at 1,500 families, six percent means quite a lot," he added.

It has been predicted that between 1,000 and 2,000 people will lose their jobs this year and next year. Retail sales figures also paint a gloomy picture with sales down every month this year.

Government has also felt the impact of the economic downturn it has suffered a $100 million shortfall in its finances in the last fiscal year after underestimating how much it would spend and overestimating how much it would raise.

While the impact of the economy seems more dramatic during the giving season, the number of people using the Salvation Army's services have been on the rise this year.

Major Lewis added: "We run two separate feeding programmes, and the number of people turning out for both has been increasing steadily throughout the year. Last September we had 85 families. We had 103 families during the same period this year."

Andrew Phillips, who has works with the West End East End Central Community to provide Christmas hampers for the needy for 14 years, said this year he had seen an increase in donations, but the increase came from more people making donations rather than people donating more.

"The boom period has shut down," he said."We work with about 100 businesses who sponsor us, and they've all been hit, some worse than others. A lot of them donated less this year, but we ended up with more donations in total, so it worked out."

Mr. Phillips said that, despite the economic climate, he expects to deliver around 1,000 hampers, almost 20 percent more compared to last year.

"Last year we did around 800, 850. This year it's 1,000," he said.

Fern Wade, who runs the charity Hands of Love, said she has seen an increase in the number of families coming for help of around ten percent.

"Last year we were helping 600 families, but we've had an increase of 60 families since January," she said. "These are families I didn't even know existed.

"The increase has been mostly in people needing food to eat and money to pay bills like rent."

She fears the economic situation in Bermuda will get worse before it gets better with more people losing their jobs and requiring assistance.

"We're thinking it will be a 25 percent increase in demand with the economic climate," she said. "We do a lot out of nothing. Everything we get goes out."

Sheelagh Cooper, who works with the Coalition for the Protection of Children, said that she expected to give out double the number of Christmas hampers.

"The demand has been substantial this year," she said. "Families in need are literally lining up outside my office."

She also attributed the situation in part to the economy, but said another key issue was that the poorest workers in Bermuda are being paid roughly the same amount as they were 15 years ago.

"There has been a cutback in jobs, and the wages in the bottom quarter haven't changed very much in the last 15 years," she said. "The cost of living has risen, but the wages are basically the same.

"Twenty five percent of the black children on the Island were living on or below the poverty line 15 years ago. That number probably increased by at least three to five percent."

She said that the annual Christmas party for the children of needy families has also swollen in size this year, with twice the number of children expected to attend this year.