While the economically battered nation last year saw historical increases in families living in poverty and without health insurance, Nebraska’s rates dropped over that same time, the Census Bureau said Thursday.

In the midst of the Great Recession, the poverty rate in the United States increased from 13.2 percent to 14.3 percent — 43.6 million people — in 2009. It was the biggest one-year increase in almost 30 years and the highest rate since 1994. The ranks of U.S. working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s.

However, the Nebraska poverty rate dropped from 10.6 percent to 9.9 percent. Iowa, conversely, mirrored the national trend, with a sizable poverty increase from 9.5 percent to 10.7 percent.

The number of Americans without health insurance also increased significantly, climbing from 46 million to top 50 million for the first time. The rate of uninsured increased from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent as nearly 7million Americans lost their employment-based health insurance.

Nebraska countered that trend as well. Its rate of uninsured dropped to 11.5 percent from 11.9 percent in 2008. Iowa saw its rate of uninsured increase from 9.5 percent to 11.4 percent.

The poverty and health insurance data appeared to offer another indication of how Nebraska has ridden out the recession in much better shape than most states. Its unemployment rate has consistently ranked among the nation’s lowest.

The latest census data, however, did not produce all good news for Nebraska. Personal income fell in the state while it was flat nationally and increased in Iowa.

David Drozd of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha said demographers will need to look deeper into the data to ascertain why that measure ran counter to the other economic measures.

While the national poverty figures were dismal, the 2009 rate was lower than some economists had been predicting.

Census officials said there was a drop in poverty among the elderly, partly due to an increase in Social Security benefits. In addition, the Census Bureau estimates that the increase in unemployment benefits that was part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package helped lift 3.3 million Americans out of poverty.

Another likely factor was a record number of working mothers, who helped households by bringing home paychecks after the recession took the jobs of a disproportionately high number of men.

The poverty and health insurance figures nationally were expected to fuel debate over Obama and his policies. The president has faced criticism for not doing more to help those who have lost jobs in the recession. In addition, he pushed to passage a health care reform law that is expected to provide insurance coverage for millions more Americans, though its main provisions won’t take effect for years.

The figures also come just weeks before national elections that will determine whether Democrats stay in power in Congress.

Other census findings:

— Among the working-age population, ages 18 to 65, poverty rose from 11.7 percent to 12.9 percent. That’s the highest rate since the 1960s, when the government launched a war on poverty that expanded the federal role in social welfare programs.

— Poverty rose among all racial and ethnic groups but stood at higher levels for blacks and Hispanics. The number of Hispanics in poverty increased from 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent; for blacks the rate increased from 24.7 percent to 25.8 percent. The number of whites in poverty rose from 8.6 percent to 9.4 percent.

— Child poverty rose from 19 percent to 20.7 percent.

This report contains material from the Associated Press.

Contact the writer:

444-1130, henry.cordes@owh.com

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100916/NEWS01/709169841

Submitted by andie531 on Sat, 2010-09-18 16:22

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