US Poverty Rate – 14.5% in 2013, compared to 15.0% in 2012 CRS finds

In 2013, the official U.S. poverty rate was 14.5%, compared to 15.0% in 2012, and marked the first statistically significant drop in the rate since 2006. In 2013, 45.3 million persons were estimated as having income below the official poverty line, a number statistically unchanged from the estimated 46.5 million poor in 2012. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1 shows a clear relationship between poverty and the economy. The level of poverty tends to follow the economic cycle quite closely, tending to rise when the economy is faltering and fall when the economy is in sustained growth.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at CRS — Poverty in the United States: 2013 (January 29, 2015)