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

April 29 – May 3, 2019

The economy produced another strong month of growth, and the jobless rate fell to the lowest level in half a century.

 

Employers added far more jobs than expected in April — another sign the U.S. economy is chugging along as the expansion nears the 10-year mark. The unemployment rate was the lowest since 1969.

 

Three red states failed to pass work requirements this year.

 

THE WATCHDOGS: Tens of thousands in Illinois are waiting months for health care because of state backlog in determining who’s eligible for Medicaid.

 

A new state is repealing its cap on welfare for families having additional children.

 

Jules grew up in a home that often didn’t have electricity, water or heat.

 

Ten years after the last minimum wage hike, Tennesseans see little hope for mandated increase.

 

Differences in ability to post bail account for one-third of the city’s race gap in pretrial detention.At $25,000 bail, white defendants are twice as likely to go free as black defendants while they fight their case.

 

More than a half-million people live on the street in the United States.

 

The population experiences homelessness at disproportionate rates.

 

The city keeps getting slapped for the poor condition of its public housing. Nothing has changed so far.

 

In every county across the U.S., some people are facing hunger — children are the most vulnerable

 

Many routinely skip meals and take ‘poverty naps’ because they cannot afford groceries. Campus food pantries are helping, but are they enough?

 

Mississippi had been one of only three states still banning those with drug felonies from federal food benefits.