DEP Invoice or Financial Record, September 30, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Rates Fell in 2000, ut Income Was Stagnant i pains Were Among High- Wage Earners ;» By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE ; J The figures are based on a survey Analysts said that most gains in WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 - New ;pf 50,000 households in 2000 and do income had been among high-income (economic statistics show that pov- inot reflect toe recent rise in unem- households and that the income gap i erty in toe United States declined in ; ^loyment or other indicators that toe between high-income earners and • poOO, with toe poverty rates of blacks ;^conomy was softening in the lower-income earners remained at a ‘^d female heads of households toe i months before toe terrorist attacks post-World War 11 high. ■ lowest on record. At the same time, ibf Sept. 11. "We still have an economy with i imedian income has leveled off after * ‘‘ITie economy was clearly weak- very impressive opportunities for I ^ears of growth. l ening before Sept. 11, and that added those at the top and not for those at i ? The new figures, released today by the bottom,” Mr. Bernstein said. i hie Census Bureau, showed that toe another swift kick,” said Robert “Yes, low-income families are work­ j^edian household income in 2000 Greenstein, executive director of the ing more and may have crossed the ! was $42,148, adjusted for inflation — center on Budget and Policy Pnon- poverty line, but they are still near­ ' shade off toe record high reached ties, a liberal research group. poor. We have structural imbalances ;ln 1999 ($42,187 in 2000 dollars). Only “It’s too early to know if this is a in our economy leading to ever-high­ itoe Northeast showed a statistical mild, short-lasting downturn or er levels of inequality, and this boom igain in income, up 3.9 percent to whether toe positive period of the hasn’t cured that problem.” $45,106. ’90s has ended and toe downturn will J’ Median household income among be deeper and the rate of growth : Hispanics and blacks set records slower,” Mr. Greenstein said. ; j($33,447 for Hispanics, $30,439 for He said it could take years to (blacks), with toe income of blacks recover to toe highs of 1999 and 2000. ! rising $1,600 from 1999. The median After toe earlier peak prosperity ■ Income for blacks was $15,000 lower year of 1989, poverty was never as ; than toe median income for whites. low again until 1998 and income was “This shows the continuing re- never as high unto 1996. ;|narkable success of welfare re­ Mr. Greenstein and other analysts form,” said Robert Rector, an ana- were puzzled about why toe median ! yst at toe Heritage Foundation, a income in 2000 remained unchanged i Conservative research group. from 1999, given low unemployment. ■ ‘‘There’s been a dramatic drop in “1 was surprised, frankly, that ! dependence.” household income was stagnant in IJ The figures showed that toe num- 2000 ” said Jared Bernstein, a senior i jber of people in poverty had dropped. economist at the Economic Policy ito 31.1 million in 2000 from 32.3 institute, a liberal research group. ; Inillion in 1999. For a family of four, “So many other indicators were posi­ ■ gn annual income below $17,603 qual­ tive, one would have expected mid­ ified them as impoverished; for one dle-income families to get toeir ; |>erson, toe poverty line was $8,794. share of the growth, but that didn t happen.” li I > _____________________________ Not only did income remain stag­ nant, but toe earnings of men who : The gap between the worked full time dropped by a full percentage point, to $^7,339 in 200^ haves and have-nots toe first time in four years that men experienced a decline. Ste not narrowing. The earnings of women were sta­ tistically unchanged, at $27,355. If Women earned 73 cents to each dol­ lar earned by men. The poverty rate fell as well, for The household incomes of Asian- ;^e fourth consecutive year, from Americans and Pacific Islanders 11.8 percent in 1999 to 11.3 percent in ISOOO, the lowest since 1979 and abput 1 )he same as the lowest poverty rate 'pver recorded (11.1 percent in 1973). continued to be higher than those of other Americans, as they have smce this group’s income began bemg re­ corded by toe Census Bureau m 1987, NLiTims 3(0 Ol i[ However, analysts say, the aver- although they showed no significant ;iage poor person fell further below increase in 2000 over 1999. Asian- ; toe poverty line in 1999 and 2000 than Americans and Pacific Islanders : in any other year since record-keep- had an average median income in ! ing began in 1979. They attributed toe 2000 of $55,521, compared with ; jlrop to cuts in food stamps and cash­ $45 904 for non-Hispanic whites (this assistance programs and to declin- is the only category that does not ; ing participation in those programs. include Hispanics), $44,226 for whites, $33,447 for Hispanics, and $30,439 for blacks.

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