American incomes and health coverage up, poverty down in new Census data
Posted September 13, 2016 in Press Releases
Data shows improvements in inflation-adjusted median income, poverty, and health insurance coverage.
For immediate release
Contact: Hannah Halbert, 614.221.4505
For the first time in nearly two decades, Census data show improvements in inflation-adjusted median income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. New national data from the Community Population Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau found 2015 median income was $56,516, a 5.2 percent ($2,798) increase over 2014. This is the largest percent increase since 1998, but is slightly lower than median income in 2007, the year before the most recent recession. The official poverty rate had the largest year-to-year drop since 1999, falling from 14.8 to 13.5 percent.This means 3.5 million fewer people live below the poverty line, including 1 million children. More people worked full-time, year-round in 2015 and fewer of those workers (-554,000, -0.6 percent) were in poverty. Health insurance coverage continues to improve with the uninsured dropping from 10.4 percent to 9.1 percent between 2014 and 2015. A different survey released only in part shows there were 4.5 percent (-511,000) fewer uninsured Ohioans in 2015 than in 2013, the baseline year for implementation of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion.
“This is excellent news for the nation and a significant departure from the post-recession trend of increases in work without improvements in poverty or income,” said Hannah Halbert, researcher with Policy Matters Ohio. “A tightening labor market, improvements in the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Medicaid expansion are helping families find stability.”
A separate measure of poverty, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, shows the impact of national policy on poverty. Social Security alone lifted more than 26 million people out of poverty. Refundable tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit kept more than 9 million working people above the poverty line. Food assistance helped 4.6 million. Unemployment compensation kept 600,000 workers who lost their job from falling into poverty.
“We cheered to see these long-overdue improvements. This is a huge leap for American families and shows that raising the wage floor and investing in anti-poverty programs can pay off. Now we should finish the job by working to address remaining poverty and disparities,” Halbert said.
Women continued to earn less than men