Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Poverty in the United States: 2008 Thomas Gabe, Specialist in Social Policy October 6, 2009 http://opencrs.com/document/RL33069/2009-10-06/download/1013/ [full-text, 21 pages]

Summary In 2008, 39.8 million people were counted as poor in the United States—an increase of 2.6 million persons from 2007, and nearly the largest number of persons counted as poor since 1960. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor under the official definition, was reported at 13.2%; up from 12.5% in 2007, and the highest rate since 1997. The recent increase in poverty reflects the worsened economic conditions since the onset of the economic recession in December 2007. Many expect poverty to rise further next year, and it will likely remain comparatively high even after the economy begins to recover. The incidence of poverty varies widely across the population according to age, education, labor force attachment, family living arrangements, and area of residence, among other factors. Under the official poverty definition, an average family of four was considered poor in 2008 if its pre-tax cash income for the year was below $22,025. This report will be updated on an annual basis, following release of U.S. Census Bureau annual income and poverty estimates.

Supporting data are based on the following: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008; Current Population Report No. P60-235, September 2009; and unpublished Census Bureau tables, available on the internet at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html.

Contents Trends in Poverty........................................................................................................................1 Definition of Poverty ..................................................................................................................2 Poverty Among Selected Groups .................................................................................................7 Racial and Ethnic Minorities .................................................................................................7 Nativity and Citizenship Status..............................................................................................7 Children...............................................................................................................................7 Adults with Low Education, Unemployment, or Disability ....................................................8 The Aged ..............................................................................................................................8 Receipt of Welfare Among the Poor ............................................................................................9 The Geography of Poverty ..........................................................................................................9 American Community Survey (ACS) State Poverty Estimates .............................................10

Figures Figure 1. Trend in Poverty Rate and Number of Poor Persons: 1959-2008, and Unemployment Rate from January1959 through September 2009........5 Figure 2. U.S. Poverty Rates by Age Group, 1959-2008 ..............................................................6 Figure 3. Poverty Rates for the 50 States and the District of Columbia: 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) Data ................. 11

Tables Table 1. Poverty Rates for the 50 States and the District of Columbia, 2002 to 2008 Estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS).............13 Table A-1. Poverty Rates (Percent Poor) for Selected Groups, 1959-2008..................................16

Appendixes Appendix. U.S. Poverty Statistics: 1959-2008 ...........................................................................16

Contacts Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................18 **************************************** Stuart Basefsky Director, IWS News Bureau Institute for Workplace Studies Cornell/ILR School 16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10016

Telephone: (607) 255-2703 Fax: (607) 255-9641 E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu ****************************************