WASHINGTON, DC – Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; Sandra Black, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers; and
Matt Fielder, Chief Economist of the Council of Economic Advisers;
issued the following statement today on the Census Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance Data.
Summary:
In 2015, household income grew at the fastest rate on record, the
poverty rate fell faster than at any point since 1968, and the uninsured
rate continued to fall.
Today’s
report from the Census Bureau shows the remarkable progress that
American families have made as the recovery continues to strengthen.
Real median household income grew 5.2 percent from 2014 to 2015, the
fastest annual growth on record. Income grew for households across the
income distribution, with the fastest growth among lower- and
middle-income households. The number of people in poverty fell by 3.5
million, leading the poverty rate to fall from 14.8 percent to 13.5
percent, the largest one-year drop since 1968, with even larger
improvements for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and children. Meanwhile,
the ratio of earnings for women working full-time, full-year to
earnings for men working full-time, full-year increased to 80 percent in
2015, the highest on record.
Every State has seen declines in its uninsured rate since 2013 as the
major coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act have taken effect.
Solid employment growth and robust real wage growth so far this year
suggest that incomes are continuing to rise in 2016, and, building on
the progress shown in today’s Census report, the President will continue
to call on Congress to take steps to invest in job creation, wage
growth, and equal pay for equal work.
SIX KEY POINTS IN TODAY’S REPORT FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU
1. Real median household income rose by 5.2 percent in 2015, the fastest growth on record.
Median household income grew $2,798 to $56,516 in 2015, the first time
that annual real income growth exceeded 5 percent since the Census
Bureau began reporting data on household income in 1967. Data from 2016
so far point to further strong gains in real household incomes, which
depend on employment, nominal wages, and inflation. As of August, total
nonfarm job growth has averaged a solid 182,000 jobs a month so far in
2016, and hourly earnings for private-sector workers have increased at
an annual rate of 2.8 percent, much faster than the pace of inflation
(1.3 percent as of July, the latest data available).
Click on the graph to increase its size.
You can review the complete statement here.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
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