public assistance vs welfare

public assistance

noun
  • government subsidy 

  • Payment made to disadvantaged persons by government in order to alleviate the burdens of poverty, unemployment, disability, old age, etc. 

welfare

noun
  • Various forms of financial aid provided by the government to those who are in need of it (often called welfare assistance in UK English). 

  • Such payment. 

  • Health, safety, happiness and prosperity; well-being in any respect. 

verb
  • To provide with welfare or aid. 

How often have the words public assistance and welfare occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )