The number of homeless people in New Brunswick appears to be on the decline, according to an annual report on homelessness in the province.

The Community Action Group on Homelessness presented their report this morning.

It indicates the number of people using emergency shelters dropped by roughly eight per cent, or about 110 people, in 2011.

Nearly 1,300 people used the shelters last year, compared to 1,410 in 2010.

Advocates for the homeless say those numbers are a positive sign, but it's only the tip of what they call the "homeless iceberg."

"We know that there may be up to 1300 people who are amongst the hidden homeless, people who are couch-surfing, people who are sleeping outdoors and not accessing shelters and different support systems," says Tim Ross, a spokesperson with the Community Action Group on Homelessness.

The report also says Fredericton has seen the number of people using homeless shelters drop for the fourth year in a row.

"Some of the contributing factors behind that drop include better local community planning, better cooperation between the partners in the non-profit sector, with the provincial government and with the federal government in the development of new affordable housing," says Ross.

The most recent data from the Community Action Group on Homelessness in Halifax is from 2009. It says more than 1,700 people were using shelters in the HRM and they believe that number is on the rise.

On Prince Edward Island, shelter use jumped almost 15 per cent in 2010.

Advocates also say institutional and emergency response to homelessness costs, on average, $100,000 per individual per year.

"We know that providing supportive housing and adequate, ongoing support can be at least 75 per cent less than that amount," says Ross.

Ross says there are still concerns that cost-cutting at the federal and provincial levels could stall the gains being made on homelessness. However, he says an effort to get people into housing and then address their other needs is having some success.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell