09/12/2023

U.S. Poverty Spiked in 2022

Meanwhile, the number of people without healthcare dropped to an uncommonly low level

Over the last year, the U.S. poverty spiked, with child poverty more than doubling, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday, while the proportion of people lacking health insurance in 2022 dropped to an uncommonly low level.

The new figures reflect the uneven pace at which the government has ceased some forms of pandemic assistance as well as the calamitous effects of record inflation on household finances. Tuesday’s data offer the first statistical snapshot of how the wind-down of such programs has begun reshaping the country.

The poverty rate, taking into account government aid programs to the poor, was 12.4 percent in 2022, up from 7.8 percent the previous year, the census data shows. That spike coincided with the end of increased child tax credit payments and other government interventions.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.