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WASHINGTON — The number of people living in poverty in America rose by nearly 4 million to 43.6 million in 2009 — the largest figure in the 51 years for which poverty estimates are available — the Census Bureau said Thursday.
The bureau said in a statement that the official poverty rate was 14.3 percent, or 1 in 7 of Americans, the highest proportion of the population since 1994.
It was the third consecutive annual increase, up from 39.8 million, or 13.2 percent, in 2008.
The bureau added that there were 8.8 million families living in poverty in 2009.
The poverty rate for under-18s rose from 19.0 percent in 2008 to 20.7 percent in 2009, but fewer people 65 and older were in poverty, with the percentage rate falling from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 8.9 percent in 2009.
The statistics cover President Barack Obama's first year in office, when unemployment climbed to 10 percent in the months after the financial meltdown.
In a statement, Obama said that "even before the recession hit, middle class incomes had been stagnant and the number of people living in poverty in America was unacceptably high, and today's numbers make it clear that our work is just beginning.
More at ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39211644/ns/us_news-life/
The bureau said in a statement that the official poverty rate was 14.3 percent, or 1 in 7 of Americans, the highest proportion of the population since 1994.
It was the third consecutive annual increase, up from 39.8 million, or 13.2 percent, in 2008.
The bureau added that there were 8.8 million families living in poverty in 2009.
The poverty rate for under-18s rose from 19.0 percent in 2008 to 20.7 percent in 2009, but fewer people 65 and older were in poverty, with the percentage rate falling from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 8.9 percent in 2009.
The statistics cover President Barack Obama's first year in office, when unemployment climbed to 10 percent in the months after the financial meltdown.
In a statement, Obama said that "even before the recession hit, middle class incomes had been stagnant and the number of people living in poverty in America was unacceptably high, and today's numbers make it clear that our work is just beginning.
More at ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39211644/ns/us_news-life/