There were 296,655 social security cases last month, down by 176 or 0.1% on August, the Social Welfare Department says.

The number of jobless receiving comprehensive social security assistance fell 0.3% to 39,041. Cases involving single parent families dropped 0.7%, to 38,960 while those involving the low income group rose from 18,470 to 18,473.

Cases involving the aged rose from 152,176 to 152,195 and accounted for 51.3% of the total, while the jobless accounted for 13.2% of cases.

Total government spending on social-security payments was $17.6 billion for 2004-05.