Recent terrorist attacks in the US have not yet had a significant effect on the economy The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Government said there had not been a large rise in people seeking help due to a recession.

Health Minister Nelson Bascome said the numbers of new people signing up for social assistance were still within single digits but things might get worse in January and February.

He said: "We were expecting massive lay offs and we prepared for the worst but we have had a small increase of persons coming on our books."

Training and Employment Manager Terry Greene also said there had not been a massive rise in people registering with his department for work.

He said: "In October we didn't see much of a trend."

Bermuda Housing Corporation chairman Raymonde Dill said there had been a small but noticeable rise in the number of new applicants seeking affordable housing.

He said the latest figures, for September showed 179, compared to around 150 applicants 15 months ago.

He stressed that on average the BHC was finding housing for 12-14 families a month and had housed 260 families in under two years.

Now demand was shifting towards housing for single people said Mr. Dill. He said: "I would like to think the families we have housed over the last two years have helped break the back for that demand.

"What we see is an increase in singles moving away from families or they have been doubling up. But I haven't done any research to say that's why the numbers are moving that way."

A spokeswoman for the Bermuda Debt Collection Agency said it was now harder to get money out of existing debtors but there had not been a surge of new cases.

Continued on Page 5