AlQa'dah 11, 1434, September 17, 2013, SPA -- The number of Americans living in poverty remained steady last year at 15 percent after rising for several years due the 2007-2009 Great Recession, according to U.S. government data released Tuesday. The Census Bureau in its annual report said about 46.5 million people, or more than 1 in 7, were living in poverty last year, little changed from 46.2 million in 2011. It was the sixth consecutive year that the poverty rate had failed to improve, hurt by persistently high levels of unemployment, which averaged 8.1 percent in 2012. The Census data also showed the 2012 median U.S. household income was about $51,000, also not statistically different from the previous year. The share of Americans without health insurance coverage-another key indicator of economic well-being-was 15.4 percent last year, compared to 15.7 percent in 2011, a change the Census Bureau described as not statistically significant. -- SPA 22:50 LOCAL TIME 19:50 GMT تغريد
