The bad news: Welfare rolls increased for the first time in 15 years during 2006. Good news: The increase was dwarfed by other figures.

WASHINGTON — Welfare rolls rose in 2009 for the first time in 15 years, but the 5% increase was dwarfed by spikes in the number of people receiving food stamps and unemployment insurance.

Okay, so we actually have bad and worse news. The bad news is that welfare rolls are on the rise; the worse news is that the numbers are dwarfed by those receiving food stamps and unemployment insurance.

The cash-assistance program that once helped more than 14 million people served an average of 4 million in the 2009 fiscal year, up from 3.8 million in fiscal 2008. By comparison, there were more than 37 million people receiving food stamps in September, an increase of 18% from the year before. The number receiving unemployment benefits more than doubled, to about 9.1 million.

37 million Americans receiving food stamps, or about 10% of the population. 9.1 million receiving unemployment benefits, double the number from 2008. And 4 million Americans living on welfare. And this is a recovery? Good Lord.