On "Poverty Day," the Census Shows 400,000 More Families are Living Below the Federal Poverty Level

By MB -
Each year when the Census Bureau releases new numbers on poverty in the United States, the day of the release is called (rather unimaginatively) "Poverty Day."  Today's Poverty Day shows some sobering data- especially when we consider that these are families living below the Federal Poverty Level, which is far lower than what families need to make ends meet.

We'll be sharing statistics from Pennsylvania over the coming days and weeks, but here is an overview from the Census for the nation:
Poverty
  • The poverty rate in 2010 was the highest since 1993.... Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points.
  • In 2010, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 11.7 percent and 9.2 million, respectively, up from 11.1 percent and 8.8 million in 2009.
  • The poverty rate and the number in poverty increased for both married-couple families (6.2 percent and 3.6 million in 2010 from 5.8 percent and 3.4 million in 2009) and female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (31.6 percent and 4.7 million in 2010 from 29.9 percent and 4.4 million in 2009). For families with a male householder no wife present, the poverty rate and the number in poverty were not statistically different from 2009 (15.8 percent and 880,000 in 2010).

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