According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA,) food stamp enrollment has dropped in 47 out of 50 states over the last year.
Specifically, some states saw more drastic drops than others. Texas saw a 32.2 percent decrease in food stamp recipients, North Carolina saw an 18.9 percent drop and Alaska saw a 15.2 percent drop.
The USDA also found that over 3.5 million Americans are no longer collecting food stamps since President Donald Trump took office.
In February of 2017, 42,134,301 Americans were collecting food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP.) But in September 2018, this number dropped significantly to 38,577,141.
Food stamp enrollment has seen a consistent decline for 11 straight months.
Breitbart claims this is “attributed to the Trump USDA’s efforts to reform SNAP and other welfare programs, as well as an improving economy, but there are also other less concrete reasons why food stamp participation is on the downswing.”
Breitbart also said that this may be also because of impending immigration policy that keeps immigrants from getting permanent residency if they are accepting welfare.
But the booming economy has also fostered a market great for those looking to get a higher paying job. The demand for workers is particularly high, meaning wages have increased as more employers try to lure in new talent.
This also means those with less education are being considered for positions they would not have been considered for in the past.
Author’s note: As the economy continues to improve, the fewer Americans will have to collect welfare benefits. The Trump administration also has plans to reform the welfare program, so less are taking advantage of the system.