One in Seven Americans Now Live In Poverty
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The poverty rate rose in 2009 to levels not seen since 1994 as household income stayed the same, while the number of people without health insurance rose to the highest level since the data began being collected by the government.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday that the poverty level rose to 14.3 percent last year, up from 13.2 percent in 2008, marking the second consecutive statistically significant increase for the numbers since 2004. The rise was not as high as the 15 percent that some had expected.
In 2009, there were 43.6 million people in poverty in the U.S., up from 39.8 million in 2008, the third straight annual increase, according to the government’s annual Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage report.
The poverty threshold for a family of four is an annual household income of $21,954.
Overall household incomes stayed statistically the same in 2009 at $49,777 from 2008, but the level is down 4.2 percent since the onset of the recession.
The government report showed that federal programs like Social Security (14 million people) and unemployment benefits (2 million) kept many people from falling below the poverty level in 2009.
The poverty rate was lower in 2009 for non-Hispanic whites than other racial groups, while the poverty rate increased for children younger than 18, to 20.7 percent last year from 19.0 percent in 2008.
The number of people with health insurance decreased to 253.6 million in 2009 from 255.1 million the year prior, and 10 percent of children under the age of 18 were without health insurance in 2009.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday that the poverty level rose to 14.3 percent last year, up from 13.2 percent in 2008, marking the second consecutive statistically significant increase for the numbers since 2004. The rise was not as high as the 15 percent that some had expected.
In 2009, there were 43.6 million people in poverty in the U.S., up from 39.8 million in 2008, the third straight annual increase, according to the government’s annual Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage report.
The poverty threshold for a family of four is an annual household income of $21,954.
Overall household incomes stayed statistically the same in 2009 at $49,777 from 2008, but the level is down 4.2 percent since the onset of the recession.
The government report showed that federal programs like Social Security (14 million people) and unemployment benefits (2 million) kept many people from falling below the poverty level in 2009.
The poverty rate was lower in 2009 for non-Hispanic whites than other racial groups, while the poverty rate increased for children younger than 18, to 20.7 percent last year from 19.0 percent in 2008.
The number of people with health insurance decreased to 253.6 million in 2009 from 255.1 million the year prior, and 10 percent of children under the age of 18 were without health insurance in 2009.
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