Poverty in the United States: 2009 – Thomas Gabe, Specialist in Social Policy, September 20, 2010
“In 2009, 43.6 million people were counted as poor in the United Statesan increase of 3.7 million persons from 2010, and the largest number of persons counted as poor in the measures 50-year recorded history. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor under the official definition, was reported at 14.3% in 2009, amounting to one of every seven persons in the U.S. being counted as poor. The 2009 poverty rate was up from 13.2% in 2008, and above its most recent pre-recession low of 12.3% in 2006. The increase in poverty over the past three years reflects the effects of the economic recession that began in December 2007. In spite of signs that the economy may be recovering, some analysts expect poverty to remain above pre-recessionary levels for as long as a decade. 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 2009 if its pre-tax cash income for the year was below $21,954.”
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