Poverty climbing in US as economic woes worsen

A new report released by the US government reveals that poverty rate in the country is on the rise, as it continues to struggle with persisting economic woes, Press TV reports.

The report released by the Joint Economic Committee also shows that the national average of household income fell for the third consecutive year in 2010 with typical household earnings declining by 6.4 percent.

“There is a gap between those families that get caught at the poverty line and those families that are living in households that are called economically insecure, they’re not bringing in enough income to meet their basic names and to be able to plan for those emergencies that happen in our lifetime,” said Donna Addkison, president of Wider Opportunities for Women.

“These poverty numbers that indicate that more women than men are slipping into poverty [and] that nearly 40 percent of single mothers living in poverty are frightening,” she pointed out.

Experts say the rising poverty rate in the United States is the result of a persisting recession and a weak labor market.

While the number of those living in poverty has grown disproportionately in the country, Americans fear that the worst is yet to come.