Around 22 % of American children lived below the federal poverty line in 2013, up from 18 % in 2008, in accordance with a brand new report. Black, Hispanic, and American Indian children had been twice as more likely to live in poverty as whites.
The 2015 Kids Count Data Book ‒ launched Tuesday by the non-profit group Annie E. Casey Foundation ‒ was compiled utilizing federal authorities knowledge collected from 2008 to 2013 to find out state-based developments pertaining to 16 components associated to high quality of life for younger children. Those components embody well being, household life, neighborhood, and training.
The 16.1 million children dwelling in poverty in 2013 counts for practically three million more than these dwelling in poverty in 2008, the start of the Great Recession. More than two million more children live in areas of concentrated poverty in comparison with 2006 to 2010, the report discovered. The federal poverty line in 2013 was thought of to be $23,624 revenue for a household with two adults and two children.
“Although we are several years past the end of the recession, millions of families still have not benefited from the economic recovery,” stated Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Casey Foundation. “While we’ve seen an increase in employment in recent years, many of these jobs are low-wage and cannot support even basic family expenses. Far too many families are still struggling to provide for the day-to-day needs of their children, notably for the 16 million kids who are living in poverty.”
One in 4 US children, or about 18.7 million children, lived in low-income households in 2013, the report discovered. Those households had been outlined as people who use more than 30 % of pre-tax revenue for housing.
Though the unemployment price has gone down from 7.5 % in June 2013 to 5.three % now, Laura Speer, affiliate director for coverage reform and advocacy on the Casey Foundation, stated it is unlikely that fewer children live in low-income households.
“It’s a much bigger issue that’s happening relating to residential segregation, the cost of housing and other factors,” Speer advised USA Today.
The report discovered that black, Hispanic, and American-Indian children had been more than twice as more likely to live in poverty than white children. With solely a “few exceptions” the report said that “on practically all the measures” it analyzed “African-American, American Indian and Latino children continued to expertise destructive outcomes at charges that had been greater than the nationwide common.”
Almost 40 % of African-American children live in poverty, the report discovered, echoing findings launched by the Pew Research Center this month. Only 14 % of white children lived in poverty.
Unemployment for African-Americans sits at 11 %, 2.four proportion factors greater than simply earlier than the recession in 2008.
“The national averages belie the stark reality that millions of children, particularly African Americans, Latinos, and American Indians live on the precipice of poverty. Today, as the economy recovers, we see a widening gap between the living standards of many children of color and other kids,” Speer stated.