WASHINGTON (Eagle News) – More Americans are living in poverty now than in recent years, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday.

The findings were based on 2022 data which shows the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) in 2022 was 12.4% compared to an SPM of 7.8% in 2021.

This is the first increase in the overall SPM poverty rate since 2010.

“This increase can be attributed to key changes in federal tax policy, including the expiration of temporary expansions to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as well as the end of pandemic-era stimulus payments,” the Census Bureau reported.

The SPM is a different metric from the Official Poverty Rate (OPM), which stood at 11.5% in 2022.

“While the official poverty measure is based on the concept of money income, which is pretax and does not include stimulus payments and tax credits, the SPM is a post-tax and transfer poverty measure,” the Census Bureau said.

The SPM accounts for factors such as annual income after taxes, assistance from government programs, tax credits, work expenses and medical expenses.

It also factors in geographic variations in housing expenses which results in higher poverty rates for Americans living in parts of the country where it is more expensive to live.

According to the Census report, the SPM child poverty rate more than doubled, from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.

– Median Household Income down –

As the poverty rate increased in 2022, the Census Bureau reported the real median household income in 2022 dropped compared to 2021.

“Real median household income fell by 2.3% from $76,330 in 2021 to $74,580 in 2022,” the Census Bureau said. “Income estimates are expressed in real or 2022 dollars to reflect changes in the cost of living. Between 2021 and 2022, inflation rose 7.8%; this is the largest annual increase in the cost-of-living adjustment since 1981.”

The report also said families under the age of 65 experienced a decline in median households income of 1.4% from 2021.

A shift from working part-time or part-year to full-time, year-round was also noticed in 2022, with an increase of 3.4%

WASHINGTON (Eagle News) – More Americans are living in poverty now than in recent years, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday.

The findings were based on 2022 data which shows the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) in 2022 was 12.4% compared to an SPM of 7.8% in 2021.

This is the first increase in the overall SPM poverty rate since 2010.

“This increase can be attributed to key changes in federal tax policy, including the expiration of temporary expansions to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as well as the end of pandemic-era stimulus payments,” the Census Bureau reported.

The SPM is a different metric from the Official Poverty Rate (OPM), which stood at 11.5% in 2022.

“While the official poverty measure is based on the concept of money income, which is pretax and does not include stimulus payments and tax credits, the SPM is a post-tax and transfer poverty measure,” the Census Bureau said.

The SPM accounts for factors such as annual income after taxes, assistance from government programs, tax credits, work expenses and medical expenses.

It also factors in geographic variations in housing expenses which results in higher poverty rates for Americans living in parts of the country where it is more expensive to live.

According to the Census report, the SPM child poverty rate more than doubled, from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.

– Median Household Income down –

As the poverty rate increased in 2022, the Census Bureau reported the real median household income in 2022 dropped compared to 2021.

“Real median household income fell by 2.3% from $76,330 in 2021 to $74,580 in 2022,” the Census Bureau said. “Income estimates are expressed in real or 2022 dollars to reflect changes in the cost of living. Between 2021 and 2022, inflation rose 7.8%; this is the largest annual increase in the cost-of-living adjustment since 1981.”

The report also said families under the age of 65 experienced a decline in median households income of 1.4% from 2021.

A shift from working part-time or part-year to full-time, year-round was also noticed in 2022, with an increase of 3.4%

(Eagle News Service)