If you are looking for signs that homelessness is on the decline in Lawrence and Douglas County as the economy improves, the latest numbers will disappoint.

A new report released by the city shows there were 296 people who were homeless throughout the county on Jan. 28. That’s up more than 25 percent from 223 people who were counted as homeless in a similar 2013 survey.

“I think these numbers show that even people who are working full time still struggle to keep a roof over their heads,” said Katherine Dinsdale, a board member for the local nonprofit Family Promise. “We have a steady stream of families entering our program, and we all notice how hard they are working.”

The latest numbers are part of a federally required “point-in-time” survey of homeless people. Volunteers and others work to count and question people who are in various forms of homelessness. Those include people living on the streets, but also those staying in an emergency shelter or in a formal transitional housing program. It does not count people who don’t have a home of their own but rather are staying with friends or relatives.

Among the findings in the latest report:

• Of the 296 people deemed homeless, 80 were children. That’s up from 71 in 2013.

• 73 adults and three families were designated as “chronically” homeless, meaning they have been homeless for at least a year, or have a disability and have been homeless four or more times in the last three years.

• 19 of the respondents were entirely unsheltered, meaning they were living in a car, an abandoned building, a bridge or other such places.

• 14 of the people counted as homeless were single and below the age of 25, which categorizes them as “homeless youth.”

• 94 of the homeless surveyed reported having a severe mental illness, 88 a substance abuse problem, 46 victims of domestic violence, and 11 with developmental disabilities.

Douglas County’s rate of increase in the homeless differed from what at least a couple of other large counties experienced. Counties across the state participate in the same one-day survey program. Reported results in Shawnee and Sedgwick counties showed totals either dropped or grew more slowly.

Topeka and Shawnee County had 403 homeless people on the Jan. 28 count day, according to a report by the Topeka Capital-Journal. That was down from 439 in 2013, according to the article. Wichita and Sedgwick County’s survey found 561 people, which was down from 538 in 2013, according to various media reports in Wichita.

The Douglas County report was unclear on why the community had seen a sharp increase in homeless numbers. It noted the higher numbers could be indicative of more people experiencing homelessness than in previous years, or it could be that the volunteers who ran the survey were more effective in finding people who were experiencing homelessness.

It also wasn’t clear in the report whether the number of people who are completely without shelter — such as those living in cars or outdoors — had declined. When the survey was taken in 2013, the Lawrence Community Shelter had been open in its new, expanded shelter for about a month.

Dinsdale said it was tough for her to gauge whether the number of people living in unsheltered conditions had improved. She said Family Promise, which focuses on providing services to homeless families, still sees a significant number of families in that situation.

“We routinely get families that are living in a car at Clinton Lake,” Dinsdale said.