MANHATTAN — New York State's poverty rate rose above the national mark of 15 percent, the country's highest level since 1993, census figures show.
The number of people living below the poverty line in the U.S. rose for the third straight year, the US Census Bureau said Tuesday, up to 15.1 percent in 2010 from 14.3 percent in 2009.
New York was slightly above the average with 16 percent of residents living in poverty, up from 15.8 percent in 2009.
The national poverty line for a family of four in 2010 was $22,314, according to the Census Bureau. The national median household income was $49,445 — a 2.3 percent decline from 2009.
The news comes after a bad couple months for the economy.
The U.S. added no jobs in August, according to the Labor Department, with unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent.
The stock market continued to fluctuate wildly, partially caused by the European debt crisis and Standard & Poor's lowering of the United State's credit rating.
President Barack Obama announced last week his jobs plan, which would use a combination of closing tax loopholes and stimulus funds to try to keep the country from dipping into another recession.
About $1.6 billion of the stimulus money would go toward New York City's public schools and $7 billion would flow into the state, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
