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

September 30 – October 4, 2019

The U.S. unemployment rate fell in September to a new five-decade low of 3.5% as employers added a modest 136,000 jobs.

 

The government’s latest monthly jobs report took on added significance after a week of otherwise disappointing economic news.

 

The number of people living below the poverty line in New York City dropped to historic lows as the economy continued to grow, according to newly released federal census data and the mayor’s office.

 

On the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, many families struggling financially can get health care, thanks to Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, their neighbors on the Missouri side don’t qualify.

 

It’s a Friday morning in late August, and Nikeia Diaz waits with others outside courtroom 2350 at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. What happens in court

 

 

In California, most child support payments to parents on public assistance go to the government–not the family. A recently passed set of bills would change that and eliminate interest on chil…

 

An array of state attorneys general, public health organizations and immigrant groups says the policy is discriminatory and illegal.