Poverty declines in the US in 2013 – The Census Report and what the White House has to say

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2013, the poverty rate declined from the previous year for the first time since 2006, while there was no statistically significant change in either the number of people living in poverty or real median household income. In addition, the poverty rate for children under 18 declined from the previous year for the first time since 2000. The following results for the nation were compiled from information collected in the 2014 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

The nation’s official poverty rate in 2013 was 14.5 percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012. The 45.3 million people living at or below the poverty line in 2013, for the third consecutive year, did not represent a statistically significant change from the previous year’s estimate.

Median household income in the United States in 2013 was $51,939; the change in real terms from the 2012 median of $51,759 was not statistically significant. This is the second consecutive year that the annual change was not statistically significant, following two consecutive annual declines.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.: 2013.

Income Highlights:

• Median household income was $51,939 in 2013, not statistically different in real terms from the 2012 median. This is the second consecutive year that the annual change was not statistically significant, following two consecutive years of annual declines in median household income.
• In 2013, real median household income was 8.0 percent lower than in 2007, the year before the most recent recession, and 8.7 percent lower than the median household income peak ($56,895) that occurred in 1999. (The percentage changes, 8.0 and 8.7, are not statistically different.)
• The 2013 real median earnings of men ($50,033) and women ($39,157) who worked full time, year round were not statistically different from their respective 2012 medians.
• The 2013 female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.78, not statistically different from the 2012 ratio.
• Between 2012 and 2013, the number of men and women working full time, year round with earnings increased by 1.8 million and 1.0 million, respectively. (The difference between the increases was not statistically significant.)
• Between 2010 (the year following the most recent recession) and 2013, the number of workers with earnings, regardless of work experience, increased by 4.5 million to 158.1 million. For those working full time, year round, the increase was 6.4 million to 105.8 million. While the number of all workers in 2013 was not statistically different from the peak that occurred in 2007, the number of full-time year-round workers in 2013 was less than the 2007 peak of 108.6 million.

Poverty Highlights

• In 2013, the official poverty rate was 14.5 percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012. This was the first decrease in the poverty rate since 2006.
• In 2013, there were 45.3 million people in poverty. For the third consecutive year, the number of people in poverty at the national level was not statistically different from the previous year’s estimate.
• The 2013 poverty rate was 2.0 percentage points higher than in 2007, the year before the most recent recession.
• The poverty rate for children under 18 fell from 21.8 percent in 2012 to 19.9 percent in 2013. 1
• The poverty rate for people aged 18 to 64 was 13.6 percent, while the rate for people aged 65 and older was 9.5 percent. Neither of these poverty rates were statistically different from their 2012 estimates.
• Both the poverty rate and the number in poverty decreased for Hispanics in 2013.
• Despite the decline in the national poverty rate, the 2013 regional poverty rates were not statistically different from the 2012 rates.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013.

At the White House: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the United States in 2013 | The White House

Today’s report from the Census Bureau shows that key indicators of poverty and family income improved in 2013. Moreover, there is reason to believe that this progress has continued into 2014, as the labor market has strengthened and millions have gained health insurance coverage. At the same time, the data also offer a clear illustration of the large amount of work that remains to strengthen the middle class in the wake of the worst recession since the Great Depression. To address this challenge, the President will continue to do everything in his power to ensure that hard work pays off with decent wages and financial security. And he will also continue to push Congress to take constructive steps that invest in job creation, boost wages, and ensure equal pay for equal work.

FIVE KEY POINTS IN TODAY’S REPORT FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU

1. The overall poverty rate declined to 14.5 percent in 2013 due to the largest one-year drop in child poverty since 1966. The poverty rate for people under age 18 fell by 1.9 percentage point from 2012 to 2013, equivalent to 1.4 million young people lifted out of poverty. Poverty rates for other age groups (18-64 and 65+) were little changed. The official poverty rate for 2013 remains above its pre-recession rate. This official poverty rate does not reflect the full effect of anti-poverty policies because it excludes the direct effect of key measures like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Notably, the EITC was expanded in 2009, and those expansions were subsequently extended. Accounting for such policies would reduce the number of people counted as being in poverty by millions.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the United States in 2013 | The White House.