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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Day: September 5, 2014

US Food Insecurity

  • USDA: Despite slight improvement, hunger persists, By Alfred Lubrano, September 4, 2014, Philadelphia Inquirer: “High rates of hunger persisted in the United States in 2013, with 49 million Americans – 16 million of them children – unable to consistently eat nutritious food. In 360,000 U.S. households, conditions were so severe that children skipped meals, or didn’t eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food. Overall, levels of hunger remained essentially unchanged between 2012 and 2013, although hunger declined slightly between 2011 and 2013. The findings are from a federal annual report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ‘Household Food Security in the United States in 2013,’ the official measure of hunger in America…”
  • US household food security fails to improve, By Haya El Nasser, September 3, 2014, Al Jazeera America: “More U.S. households are having a hard time putting food on the table than before the recession. But there is a sliver of hope: The numbers are not going up. In 2013, 14.3 percent of households (17.5 million) experienced varying degrees of food insecurity, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The change from 2012 was not statistically significant, but the latest research shows a slight dip since 2011, when 14.9 percent of households suffered from hunger or poor nutrition…”

Joblessness and Unemployment

  • Long-term unemployment almost double pre-financial crisis level – OECD, By Phillip Inman, September 3, 2014, The Guardian: “The number of long-term unemployed in the world’s major economies has increased by 85% since the financial crash, according to the latest employment monitor by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). More than 16 million people have been out of work for at least a year in the first quarter of 2014, up from 8.7 million before the crisis, or more than one in three of all unemployed across the OECD’s 34 member countries, the report said…”
  • U.S. job growth slips in August after months of bigger gains, By Nelson D. Schwartz, September 5, 2014, New York Times: “Once again, the American economy has managed to frustrate the optimists. After a series of positive economic reports in recent weeks, the Labor Department said Friday that hiring in August sank to its slowest pace since December, with employers adding 142,000 jobs last month. The vast majority of economists had been looking for a gain of at least 200,000 in payrolls, coming off healthy indicators for durable goods orders, construction activity and manufacturing in July and August. The unemployment rate did fall by 0.1 percentage point to 6.1 percent last month, but that was because more people dropped out of the work force rather than found jobs…”

Prize-Linked Savings Accounts

Using gambling to entice low-income families to save, By Patricia Cohen, August 30, 2014, New York Times: “While building up savings offers the best route out of poverty, the glamourless grind of socking away a dollar here and there has a tough time competing with the heady fantasy of a Mega Millions jackpot. But instead of attacking lotteries, a growing number of credit unions and nonprofit groups are using them to encourage low-income families to save. They offer what are known as prize-linked savings accounts, which essentially treat every deposit as a ticket in a prizewinning raffle. The idea is to offer the thrill of gambling without the risk. Even perennial losers keep their savings…”