Number Of Working Poor In America Hit Its Highest Level In Last Two Decades: Report

In this post-recession economy you may be able to get a job, but that doesn't necessarily protect you from falling into poverty.

In 2010, the number of working poor Americans climbed to its highest level in the last two decades, the Department of Labor reported last week. About 10.5 million Americans, or 7.2 percent of the labor force in 2010, weren't earning enough to stay out of poverty, according to a Department of Labor report released last week. That's the highest rate since the Labor Department started reporting the statistic in 1987 (h/t Think Progress).

To provide broader picture of 2010, during that year, 46.2 million Americans or 15.1 percent of the population were earning below the official poverty line -- an annual income of $10,830 for a single person and $22,050 for a family of four, according to the Census Bureau.

But the new report isn't the only indication that the number of Americans making a decent income has declined in recent years. The number of U.S. households classified as living in "extreme poverty" -- earning a cash income of less than $2 per person per day -- more than doubled from 1996 to 2011, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported.

In addition, nearly one in every two Americans or 146.4 million is now classified as either low-income or earning below the poverty line, an increase of 4 million from 2009, according to a December Census report.

What's more, the number of Americans one emergency away from a financial crisis also climbed to nearly 50 percent, a study from earlier this year found.

And while there may be indications that the job market is improving, the most recent employment gains are reportedly taking place in low-paying industries like retail and temporary work. In addition, median income has decreased more during the recovery than the recession.

Comments

[johmich5]

10:05 AM on 04/17/2012

Four More Year of Poverty

"Yes we can"

[MSROADKILL612]

11:35 AM on 04/13/2012

sorry - below post was meant as a reply

[MSROADKILL612]

11:34 AM on 04/13/2012

"
A strong case can be made that the fundamental supports of the housing market-- "

Rot

thats what caused the bubble

yet you have the hide to call it a transparent transaction

[MeinNH]

11:12 AM on 04/12/2012

What does one expect when people are forced to work for a minimum wage that does not support them or their family?

[authorized-user]

10:56 AM on 04/12/2012

I love how many of the commentators on this site like to remind everyone how "more initiative" will solve these underemployment problems.
"About 10.5 million Americans, or 7.2 percent of the labor force in 2010, weren't earning enough to stay out of poverty" Add that to the total of people who are unemployed and you get some idea of the scope of this problem.
----How will more tax breaks for the 1% fix this mess?----

[hmagbie]

07:45 AM on 04/12/2012

Thanks Wall St. The cancer that has invaded the world's economy created the " recession" and has impoverished one half of all Americans. Repeal the Commodities Modernization Act of 2000 and the Financial Modernization Act of 1999 and get speculators out of the commodities markets. When you increase the price of commodities we all get poorer. When you manipulate the US dollar to enhance your commodity holdings we all get poorer. When you create high risk derivatives that fail under their own weight we all get poorer. One half of us are poor,let that sink in. We must remove the cancer. Repeal, Reform, Renew. Organize and vote.

[xILLEGITIMATEx]

07:27 AM on 04/12/2012

Republican tax cuts combined with disinvestment from our communities by corporations are choking this country, period. Denial of these facts prolong the agony being felt everywhere by Americans. There are too many facts out there already that bear this out. Until we replace the rich people, Democrat or Republican, whom we elect on the false premise of them representing "everyday Americans", the pain will continue...

[libertymen]

07:10 AM on 04/12/2012

Structural change in our economy has created more low wage jobs.
thats what comes from competing with low wage Asian workers.
Question is what level was there before in prosperous years?

[authorized-user]

10:59 AM on 04/12/2012

This is "financial reform" initiated by the 1% lobbyists and enabled by DC starting with Clinton and cultivated by his successors right up to Obama.

[Karen Levin]

05:14 AM on 04/12/2012

No matter who did what to whom, these statistics are deplorable. Instead of finger-pointing and fighting with our frightened neighbors, we need to stop wasting time and come up with solutions which will enrich and secure fair treatment for our children's lives - fast. The more we care about one another the better our collective ideas will become. Keep our eyes on the ball - the wealthy and what they have done, and continue to do to us, must pay their fair share of taxes, eliminate the loopholes and penalize overseas hires, AND everyone who is working deserves a living [not minimum] wage. Single-payer heathcare is just as important to all of us - these are rights of the people, by the people, for the people.

[First Blast]

04:37 AM on 04/12/2012

That pic isn't of the working poor, it looks to be of the nonworking.

[authorized-user]

11:00 AM on 04/12/2012

It's Congress waiting for their next payoff from a lobbyist.

[Alux]

04:19 AM on 04/12/2012

Two days ago, HuffPo has the article about how more than 70% of Americans think the US is still in a recession, even though the Obama administration declared it over in June 2009.

Now this today - greatest number of working poor EVER (yeah, HuffPo, I noticed that the slick effort to make it seem like it's only in the last 20 years, but anyone reading the article sees that NEVER has a larger number been recorded).

This is exactly the kind of record Obama has to run away from.

So what does Axelrod come up with?

Listen to this:

- Don't believe your own eyes, believe my statistics - everything is GREAT!

- It's still all Bush's fault.

- It will be worse if Romney is elected.

- Take your anger out on your local Democrat candidates, but vote for me at least.

- Allen West is a real bad guy.

David - I think you are going to need something a little stronger.

[BRAINS4USA]

08:19 AM on 04/12/2012

No ALUX. You see the message is meant for those with an IQ higher than 2; you dont qualify - by a long shot...

[Virginia Nancarvis]

12:34 PM on 04/12/2012

Allen West just declared there were seventy-eight to eighty-one members in Congress that were Communist..The Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Communist Party then came out with a statement that this was not true..no members of Congress are Communist. Allen West is a real bad guy. It will be worse if Romney is elected and it is the Bush Administrations fault we are in the financial mess we are in.

[Alux]

01:08 PM on 04/12/2012

Thanks so much Virginia for proving exactly what I am saying about Axelrod's tactics. See how you are buying it hook, line and sinker.

If you read the comments on this board, there are more Tea Party members in Congress than Republicans.

Yet, every time some HuffPo member calls someone a bagger or other insulting term, no one really means that the bagger in question is an actual card-carrying Tea Party member.

So too with communists.

For most people, if it walks like a communist/bagger/whatever, talks like one, poops like one, it is one.

[Josh Crawford]

03:28 AM on 04/12/2012

The Great Recession may have officially ended a couple of years ago, but that by NO MEANS means that the negative impacts have ceased. In every recession since WWII it has taken about three years to get into "real" recovery mode. We just passed the three year mark of the end of the Great Recession a few months ago....

[First Blast]

04:03 AM on 04/12/2012

Pray tell what economic factors will be driving job growth next year?

[Josh Crawford]

04:32 AM on 04/12/2012

Hard to say but hopefully manufacturing will continue to grow and add jobs, hopefully Congress will get off their butts and pass a Transportation bill that includes some additional money to put a bunch of construction workers back to work, hopefully the housing market will FINALLY start to rebound, hopefully companies across the board will start to spend some of the trillion dollars plus they have in reserve and pick up the hiring pace, and hopefully things will FINALLY start to trend positive in Europe.
But like I said, hard to say...

[racebaiterhater]

02:44 AM on 04/12/2012

Obama must be proud.

[First Blast]

03:55 AM on 04/12/2012

It's not his fault remember, the buck stopped somewhere else.

[webwzrd]

02:24 AM on 04/12/2012

What we are seeing is the continuation of the Bush years, where most of the jobs were low paying service jobs. This is the product of both Republican tax policy benefiting the rich and bi-partisan free trade agreements that have moved MILLIONS of good paying manufacturing jobs overseas.

We have to either enact protectionist tariffs that keep jobs in the US or create industries that cannot be exported. Otherwise, get ready to flip some burgers.

[big tom]

05:10 AM on 04/12/2012

the right wing radicals will be in slavery and still not know how they got there....republicans have destroyed the nation.. they stick their head in the sand.

[joeyhas]

12:48 AM on 04/12/2012

everything the media tells you about poor, rich, job increases, unemployment, etc is a lie. Just like the cake.