US poverty up second year on Bush's watch
(Reuters)27 September 2003
WASHINGTON - Some 1.7 million people in the United States slid into poverty in 2002 and incomes slipped for the second year in a row with blacks particularly hard hit, the US government said on Friday in a report sure to provide ammunition for Democrats in the upcoming presidential race.
The Census Bureau's annual report showed the number of people living below the poverty line rose to 34.6 million last year, from 32.9 million in 2001, when the national economy first went into recession.
Overall, the percentage of the US population living in poverty grew for a second year, rising to 12.1 per cent from 11.7 per cent in 2001. The poverty line was defined in 2002 as $18,244 for a family of four with two children. Blacks were the only group which saw a larger percentage of its members living in poverty.
The Census Bureau, which only last year allowed people to identify themselves as being from more than one race, said that 23.9 per cent of people who said they were black and another race lived in poverty in 2002 while 24.1 per cent who identified themselves as only black were poor. Both figures are higher than in 2001, when 22.7 percent of blacks were listed as living in poverty. (snip/...)
~~~~ link ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Saturday, September 27, 2003
Poverty up in Illinois Associated Press
CHICAGO -- The percentage of people in poverty rose in Illinois over the past two years and household income fell, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday.
Only four other states --
Florida, Hawaii, Michigan and Mississippi -- saw poverty increase while income decreased based on two-year averages comparing 2000-2001 to 2001-2002, the bureau found.
"Clearly, from today's numbers, we're not moving in the right direction," said Jerry Stermer, president of the child advocacy group Voices for Illinois Children.
Economists and groups that study poverty attribute much of the state's downturn to the country's economic slump and its struggle to recover from a recession. But they also say Illinois has some characteristics, such as a large number of low-paying jobs in the service sector, that affect poverty rates. (snip/...)
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/092703/new_20030927028.shtml~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Florida reports significant increase in poverty
By RON WORD
Associated Press Writer
Last update: 27 September 2003
JACKSONVILLE -- Florida saw a significant increase in its poverty rate and a decrease in median income, both of which may be due to the state's dependence on tourism, a University of Florida economist said Friday.
In new figures released Friday by the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida's poverty rate increased to 12.1 percent over a three-year period ending in 2002, an increase of 0.8 percent since 2001. At the same time, the state's three-year average median income for 2000-2002 decreased by 3.3 percent to $38,533.
David Denslow, a UF economist, attributed the poverty increase to Florida's tourism industry and an economy with many low-paying jobs, which average about 6 percent below the national average. A study released on Labor Day by Florida International University said the median wage in 2002 in Florida was $9.90 an hour. The national average was $10.47 an hour. (snip)
(snip) While poverty rates remained unchanged in 41 states and the District of Columbia, the rates increased in Florida, Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah, based on comparisons of two sets of two-year averages, 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. (snip/...)
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Florida/03FloridaSTAT30092703.htm
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