RECESSION DRIVES UP POVERTY LEVELS AMONG LATINO FAMILIES

Recently released data on 2009 by the U.S. Census Bureau reveal increases in poverty among all Americans, reflecting the job losses associated with the peak of the recession, according to new analysis by NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. The data show that more Hispanic families, like other American families affected by the recession, are falling into poverty as a result of joblessness. However, Latinos are more likely to have children, so unemployment among Latinos has a greater effect on overall child well-being.

Latinos with jobs seem to be weathering the storm better, but effective antipoverty programs are also helping. Important programs that deserve continued support include unemployment benefits, food stamps, school lunches, health care, education, housing assistance, and others that mitigate the most negative effects of poverty and unemployment among hard-hit families.

Census findings include the following:

* The Latino poverty rate increased from 23.2% in 2008 to 25.3% in 2009. Twelve million Latinos were counted as poor in 2009, representing an increase of 1.4 million since 2008. In 2009, a four-person family was considered poor if income fell below $21,954.
* Latino median household income was $38,039 in 2009, which was not statistically different from its 2008 level.
* In 2009, the poverty rate for Latinos was 25.3%, compared to 9.4% for Whites and 25.8% for Blacks.
* Poverty is highest among children. The Latino child poverty rate was 33.1%, the poverty rate among Latino adults was 21.4%, and the poverty rate among Latino seniors was 18.3%. Other studies have shown that without Social Security, 50% of Hispanic seniors would be poor.

“Targeted tax credits such as the Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Tax Credit help lift working poor families out of poverty,” said Eric Rodriguez, NCLR Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation.

NCLR continues to support efforts such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expansion of tax credits and incentives for the working poor and the creation of green jobs training and contracting for disadvantaged workers. Not only have these measures helped ensure that families can afford basic food and shelter, but increased wages can fuel business activity and economic growth. Lastly, Social Security helps keep the majority of Hispanic seniors out of poverty and must be protected and strengthened to ensure that it has adequate financing for future generations of Americans.

“Federal efforts, whether to provide children access to healthy food or help parents pay rent, have helped support jobless workers and should continue to play a strong role,” said Rodriguez, “but federal support for families alone is not enough. We need more effective skills training for unemployed workers, and we need more jobs. Doing this well requires business and government to work together on a grander scale and in a deeper way than we’ve seen thus far.”

From: www.nclr.org

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