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This report summarizes data on the working poor. The working poor are people who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force(that is, working or looking for work) but whose incomes still fell below the official poverty level.
The working poor are people who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (that is, working or looking for work) but whose incomes still fell below the official poverty level.
In 2020, the working-poor rate of people in the labor force for 27 weeks or more was 4.1 percent and was little changed from a year earlier, when it reached a series low (4.0 percent). (See chart 1.) Full-time workers remained much less likely to be among the working poor than part-time workers.
In 2020, the working-poor rate of people in the labor force for 27 weeks or more was 4.1 percent and was little changed from a year earlier, when it reached a series low (4.0 percent). (See chart 1.) Full-time workers remained much less likely to be among the working poor than part-time workers.
A profile of the working poor, 2019. About 34.0 million people, or 10.5 percent of the nation’s population, lived below the official poverty level in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.[1] ( See the technical notes section for examples of poverty levels.)
A profile of the working poor, 2018. July 2020 | Report 1087. About 38.1 million people, or 11.8 percent of the nation’s population, lived below the official poverty level in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.[1] ( See the technical notes section for examples of poverty levels.)
In 2014, the working-poor rate—the ratio of the working poor to all individuals in the labor force for at least 27 weeks—was 6.3 percent, down by 0.7 percentage point from the previous year’s figure.
