Government is spending about $16 million this year on clothing, housing and feeding those unable to "make ends meet''.

And up to 900 families have received assistance of some form from Government in the last year.

Government officials add that there are still millions of other dollars spent by various charities in separate programmes to care for those at the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

And a Government Minister has said that Bermuda's true jobless rate is probably substantially higher than the official registration of unemployed.

Bermudians, who sailed along Bermuda's wave of prosperity, have in recent years found it harder to keep their heads above water. The Island is coming off a period of record numbers on the list of social assistance recipients.

Government figures show that money for just social assistance jumped from $4.8 million in 1991/92 to a revised budgeted estimate of $8.5 million for 1992/93.

This year that estimate is still climbing.

But it was during the 1992/93 year that there was an opportunity to see the scope of under-employment.

Because after spending a record $4.8 million the year before on social assistance in the midst of a deepening economic recession, officials originally projected a decrease down to $4.5 million, before later starkly revising that figure up to $8.5 million.

Because of changes in budgeting methods by Government, it is difficult to get comparable figures for 1993/94.

By this year, the Government was clearly concerned enough about the rising need for assistance. This April they set up the Department of Financial Assistance, during a reorganisation of the Department of Social Services.

The Government has some measure of confidence that construction starts next year may ease the burden.

The Social Services Minister, the Hon. Quinton Edness, in detailing the Country's bill, said that the construction of the new school, expected to begin in January and, perhaps, work on the Bermuda Financial Centre may spread enough money around to begin an economic healing.

"It will get many people back to work and it will be a tremendous confidence boost for the Country, psychologically. And that in itself will cause a lot of things to happen in the domestic market. People will spend more money. They will increase inventories, they'll do things that they have been putting off.

"It will be a final bolster to get the Country out of recession.'' Mr. Edness said that he could not predict when there will be a reduction in the Social Services bill and the Government was trying to guard against institutionalising a lot of people on social assistance.

He said that there was no guarantee that all the people who worked as construction workers will be eager to return to that industry, especially after it let them down in recent years. Others may have moved on and re-trained.

Mr. Edness said: "The upswing in social assistance began in 1992. It went from about 300 families being helped on a fairly regular basis, to 900.

"The financial assistance bill is about $11 million. You have to add to that the housing assistance programme, which takes it up to about $15 million.

"Then you add to that the cost of administering the programme. So you are really talking about a cost to the Country of about $16 million.

"Our system is designed toward trying to get people back off financial assistance. It is designed to get people over a difficult problem.

"We have to recognise in this recession though, that a lot of the jobs in the hotels and in construction have never come back. Those were the largest areas of employment. And during the recession, most businesses got rid of the fat.

They got lean and better run.

"We have about 500 people registered with Government as being unemployed. But we know there are still a lot others that don't register. So you've probably got a legitimate unemployment factor of somewhere between 800 and 1,000 people and maybe even more.

"In terms of social assistance, we are right now ranging throughout the year, from a low of about 700 families to a high of 900 families. But, remember, we are on the upswing now, with the slow season coming.'' Public assistance spending increases But just looking at Government spending on the Island's social ills does not render a complete picture of the depth of the problem, or even its total cost.

Organisations are donating countless voluntary manpower hours of time to trying to improve a little corner of the problem.

The Salvation Army is just one of those organisations. They spent in 1993 a total of $1,529,563 for their over-all operations, a lot of it in pure services to the community, a lot of it to groups of people who simply needed help.

Not surprisingly, they spend what ever they get in income, mostly from tithes and offerings from their 800 to 1,000 faithful parishioners.

"It's bare bones budgeting,'' said divisional commander, Major Merv Leach.

"We rely totally on donations for our income. And in looking at our spending, we do a lot of it by faith, anticipating the money will come from somewhere.

It usually does. But we do operate on a tight budget.'' "We expect a five percent increase in the budget a year. And this year our Red Shield Appeal donations will be up from $235,000 to $275,000.''