One in seven Americans live in poverty

NEW YORK - The number of people living in poverty has increased to 14.3 percent of Americans, with the ranks of the working-age poor reaching the highest level since 1965. The Census Bureau said that about 43.6 million people, or 1 in 7, were living in poverty last year. That’s up from 39.8 million, or 13.2 percent, in 2008.

The number of people lacking health insurance rose from 46.3 million to 50.7 million, due mostly to the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession. Congress passed a Health Overhaul Bill earlier this year to extend coverage to more people.

The statistics released cover President Barack Obama’s first year in office, when unemployment rose to 10 percent in the months after the financial meltdown. The median - or midpoint - household income was $49,777.

The Office of Management and Budget defined the poverty threshold level as less than $21,954 for a family of four in 2009 and $10,956 for an individual. The poverty rate increased for all racial groups except Asians.

The jump, reported as part of a regular annual Census Bureau report on income, poverty and health insurance, was not unexpected. The US economy went through a very rough 2009.

“The Census Bureau released data that illustrates just how tough 2009 was,”President Obama said in a statement.

(Courtesy: cnnmoney.com)