Personal Finances
Census sees drop in incomes
Friday, September 11, 2009
Brafton
According to its report, the bureau noted that real median household incomes fell from $52,163 in 2007 to $50,303 in 2008. The decline marks a 3.6 percent drop in incomes and stops a three-year trend that saw annual increases.
"These declines in income coincide with the recession that started in December 2007," the Census Bureau's report noted.
The decline in real median household income fell for both family and non-family households. Family households saw income fall by 3.3 percent, while non-family households had a decline of 4 percent.
The Census' report also stated that the poverty rate saw an increase for 2008. In 2007, the poverty rate was 12.5 percent, while the following year saw it rise to 13.2 percent.
More recent statistics fare only slightly better. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income increased by $3.8 billion during July of 2009, while disposable income dropped $4.6 billion.
