Publisher's Synopsis
In 2012, 46.5 million people were counted as poor in the United States-the number, statistically unchanged over the past three years, is the largest recorded in the measure's 54-year history. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor under the official definition, was reported at 15.0% in 2012, a level statistically unchanged from the two previous years. The 2012 poverty rate of 15.0% is well above its most recent pre-recession low of 12.3% (2006) and remains at a level not last seen since 1993. Poverty in the United States increased markedly from 2007 through 2010, in tandem with the economic recession (officially marked as running from December 2007 to June 2009).
