Official US poverty rate declined in 2023, but more people faced economic hardship ========== The official US poverty rate fell to 11.1% in 2023 from 11.5% in 2022, with approximately 36.8 million Americans living in poverty; however, the supplemental poverty measure increased to 12.9% from 12.4% due to higher out-of-pocket medical expenses and reduced effectiveness of Social Security and SNAP; 58.5% of Americans will experience poverty at least once between ages 20 and 75; the US has one of the highest poverty rates among Western nations; poverty rate was cut in half from 22.4% in 1959 to 11.1% in 1973; in 2023, 9.7% of older Americans were in poverty, down from 35.2% in 1959; childhood poverty rose to 13.7% in 2023, the highest since 2018. #Poverty #UsEconomy #CensusBureau #Snap #SocialSecurity #EconomicHardship #ChildPoverty #Inequality #Sociology #MarkRank https://theconversation.com/official-us-poverty-rate-declined-in-2023-but-more-people-faced-economic-hardship-238520