Archive for the ‘Poverty’ Category
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
Report on equality between women and men 2010
Source: European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
From Main Developments:
Combating persisting gender inequalities in all spheres of society is a longer-term challenge, since it entails structural and behavioural changes and a redefinition of the roles of women and men. Progress is slow, and gender gaps persist as regards employment rates, pay, working hours, positions of responsibility, share of care and household duties, and risk of poverty.
The increasing participation of women in the labour market is a positive development, representing an important contribution to economic growth in the EU, accounting for a quarter of annual economic growth since 1995. The female employment rate increased by 7.1 percentage points over the last decade and reached 59.1% in 2008, which is close to the Lisbon target (60% in 2010), though this rate varies between Member States, from below 40% to above 70%. The average gap between female and male employment rates fell to 13.7 percentage points in 2008 from 18.2 points in 1998.
Interrupting this positive trend, however, the economic crisis has had serious repercussions on the labour market and unemployment figures. Between May 2008 and September 2009, the unemployment rate at EU level rose more rapidly for men (from 6.4% to 9.3%) than for women (7.4% to 9%). The male-dominated sectors of industry and construction have been hit hard. However, in recent months female and male unemployment rates have been increasing at the same pace, reflecting probably an extension of the crisis to other sectors, more gender-mixed than the ones first hit. Moreover, in a dozen Member States, unemployment remains higher among women. Finally, as women’s jobs are concentrated in the public sector, they could be disproportionately affected by job losses due to budget cuts.
Experience from past crises shows that men’s employment generally recovers more quickly than women’s2. For persons who become unemployed, the risk of not being
re-employed is higher for women. Focusing on the evolution of unemployment rates during the recession is important but may hide other less visible trends, including the over-representation of women among inactive persons (women represent more than two thirds of the 63 million persons between 25-64 who are inactive in the EU) or among part-time unemployed (part-timers who would like to work more hours) who are not necessarily registered as unemployed.
Women are more likely to have a disadvantaged position on the labour market e.g. due to higher incidence of precarious contracts, involuntary part-time and a persistent unfavourable pay gap (17.6% on average in the EU in 2007), with repercussions on their lifetime earnings, social security protection and pensions, resulting in higher at-risk-of-poverty rates, especially once in retirement. In 2007, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was higher for women (17%) than men (15%) and this gap was especially high for older persons (22% for women compared to 17% for men) and single parents (34%). The situation of those facing multiple disadvantages is particularly difficult. Finally, households will be more severely affected by a loss of income (due to job losses) in those countries where a male-breadwinner model still predominates, underlining the need for further support for the dual-earner model.
+ Direct link to report (PDF; 513.8 KB)
Posted in Age and Aging, Business and economics, Children and families, Europe, Gender and sexuality, Human rights, Industries, Labor, Poverty, Social and cultural issues, United Kingdom | No Comments »
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Advancing the Economic Security of Unmarried Women
Source: Center for American Progress
In America today nearly half of women are unmarried—a transformational societal change from 1960 when only one-third of women were unmarried. And today virtually every woman will spend at least part of her adult life as the sole supporter of herself or her family. With so many women living on their own, it is crucial that lawmakers take seriously unmarried women’s economic security needs.
Unfortunately, the economic circumstances of unmarried women are troubling. They face greater economic insecurity compared to the general population or their married counterparts by almost any measure. They must confront disproportionate unemployment, poverty, and lack of health insurance, as well as other hardships. Despite being just under half of the female population, they represent 63 percent of unemployed women, 60 percent of women without health insurance, and three-quarters of women in poverty.
Each of the new laws and proposed policy changes described in this report has its place in an agenda that improve unmarried women’s economic conditions. Together, this legislation would make significant progress.
Congress doesn’t need to wait to get started on this agenda, either. The top four policy proposals described in this report that are likely to move through Congress quickly and would have a significant impact on the economic security of unmarried women are:
- The health care system overhaul currently pending in Congress, which would fill a major gap in public policy by greatly expanding the availability and affordability of health insurance.
- A proposed reauthorization and expansion of the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which provides subsidies for child care to low-income families.
- The expected reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act, which Congress can use to focus on the workforce development needs of single women. Bills such as the Pathways Advancing Career Training Act and the Women WIN Jobs Act would target opportunities for job training and good jobs to women.
- The Paycheck Fairness Act, which the Senate is expected to consider this year and the House passed in January 2009. Women continue to face gender-based pay discrimination, and this bill would strengthen legal protections against wage discrimination.
+ Executive Summary (PDF; 349 KB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 910 KB)
Posted in Business and economics, Children and families, Gender and sexuality, Labor, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Friday, March 19th, 2010
PRB Report Examines U.S. Economic and Social Trends Since 2000
Source: Population Reference Bureau
Since the beginning of the current recession, homeownership and mobility rates have dropped; poverty has increased; and commuting patterns have shifted toward greener, more cost-effective options, according to a new report by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).
PRB’s Population Bulletin, “U.S. Economic and Social Trends Since 2000,” by Linda A. Jacobsen and Mark Mather, is a wide-ranging analysis of how the U.S. population has changed since 2000. With the 2010 Census just around the corner, it is an appropriate time to compare the United States today with its demographic makeup at the last census in 2000.
The authors look beyond employment and income and examine other important aspects of people’s lives—educational attainment, homeownership, commuting, marriage, fertility, and migration trends.
The report highlights the persistent racial gap in higher education enrollment and completion, even though more young adults are in college and graduate school now than ever before. The divergence is all the more significant since blacks and Hispanics are projected to make up 43 percent of all youth in the United States by 2030. “If current racial and ethnic gaps in school enrollment and completion persist, then the United States may not have a workforce with the knowledge and skills needed for future economic success,” says Linda A. Jacobsen, vice president of Domestic Programs at PRB. Jacobsen’s co-author, Mark Mather, is associate vice president of Domestic Programs at PRB.
+ Full Report
Posted in Business and economics, Children and families, Education, Ethnic, Poverty, Race, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Family Factors and Student Outcomes
Source: RAND Corporation
To examine the effects of family process variables (specific things families do) and family status variables (who families are) on students’ academic achievement and nonacademic outcomes, the author uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, a U.S. longitudinal dataset that follows a nationally representative sample of children from kindergarten through fifth grade, and the Programme for International Student Assessment, a cross-country cross-sectional dataset that assesses academic achievement of 15-year-old students. The U.S. data indicate that even after controlling for demographics and school inputs, student achievement was associated with such process variables as parental expectations and beliefs, learning structure, resource availability, home environment, parenting and disciplinary practices, and parental involvement. In addition, doing homework more frequently, having home Internet access, and owning a community library card had higher returns in terms of student achievement for black children or children from low socio-economic families than for their counterparts. U.S. students did not fare as well as their peers in other countries and economies, and family process variables, especially considered collectively, are important factors in explaining student achievement in an international setting.
Posted in Children and families, Education, Ethnic, K-12, Poverty, Race, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Ranks of Homeless Veterans Drop 18 Percent
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The number of Veterans homeless on a typical night dropped 18 percent as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) entered the second year of its campaign to eliminate homelessness among Veterans within five years.
…
VA’s Community Homeless Assessment Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG), which conducts a widely cited, annual census of homeless Veterans, estimated 107,000 Veterans were homeless each night last year. That figure was 131,000 in 2008 and 154,000 in 2007.
…
VA has approximately 4,000 agreements with community partners. Last year, more than 92,000 homeless Veterans were served by VA’s specialized homeless programs. This is an increase of 15 percent from the previous year.
+ Full Report (PDF; 569 KB)
Posted in Mental health and substance abuse, Poverty, Social and cultural issues, Veterans | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Hunger in America 2010
Source: Feeding American
From press release:
A landmark study released today from Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that more than 37 million people, one in eight Americans — including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors — receive emergency food each year through the nation’s network of food banks and the agencies they serve. The findings represent a staggering 46 percent increase since the organization’s previously released study in 2006.
Hunger in America 2010 is the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. The number of children and adults in need of food as a result of experiencing food insecurity has significantly increased.
More than one in three client households are experiencing very low food security—or hunger—a 54 percent increase in the number of households compared to four years ago.
An estimated 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance each week from a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other agency served by one of Feeding America’s more than 200 food banks. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
Posted in Food and agriculture, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Supporting Parents of Young Children in the Child Welfare System
Source: National Center for Children in Poverty
Consistent, responsive, and nurturing early relationships foster emotional well-being in young children, as well as create the foundation for the behavioral, social, and cognitive development essential for school readiness. Developmental research tells us that parents are one of the most important influences on children with high quality parenting essential for healthy child development. Thus, preventing behavior problems in young children requires family-oriented, evidence-informed strategies that address the needs of both parents and their children.
This report explores the challenges and opportunities of improving mandated parent training for parents of young children in the child welfare system. Drawing on lessons from research and practice, it calls on states, courts and communities to use more intentional, cost effective, and strategic approaches to required parent training. The report is based on Improving Parenting Outcomes for Children in the Child Welfare System: an emerging issues roundtable that the National Center for Children in Poverty conducted in July 2007 in New York. The forum brought together leaders in child welfare, policymakers, philanthropists, researchers and those with practice expertise to explore the best means to ensure effective parenting training and to consider action steps to help this high risk population. (See Appendix I for a list of participants.)
While parent education is only one component of a comprehensive service plan to help parents better parent, it is a point of potential leverage to improve the child welfare system by providing more effective prevention services, such as parenting education, and spending scarce resources more efficiently. This report explores the research, proposes criteria for effective programs, and discusses strategies that can be used at the local, state and national levels to change policy and practice.
+ Full Report (PDF; 295 KB)
Posted in Children and families, Government and politics, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
The Cost of Delay: State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children
Source: Pew Center on the States
An estimated one in five children go without dental care each year. States play a key role in ensuring that low-income children have access to basic, preventive dental care. A new report, The Cost of Delay: State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children, finds that two-thirds of states are doing a poor job. The report was produced by the Pew Center on the States with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the DentaQuest Foundation.
Pew assessed and graded states and the District of Columbia on eight proven policy solutions that ensure dental health and access to care. A 50-state report card shows that just six states earned an “A” and that 36 states received a “C” or lower.
+ Full Report (PDF; 1.4 MB)
+ State fact sheets (PDFs)
Posted in Children and families, Government and politics, Health and healthcare, Poverty | No Comments »
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Asset Poverty and Debt Among Families with Children
Source: National Center for Children in Poverty
Increasingly the significance of asset ownership among low-income families is being recognized. Assets such as savings and homeownership are vital components of a family’s economic security, along with income and human and social capital. In this report, we use the term “assets” to refer to financial and economic resources, not including human capital. Unlike labor market earnings, income generated from assets provides a cushion for families in case of job loss, illness, death of a parent, or even natural disaster. This cushion may be especially important for the working poor, whose economic lives can be severely impacted by even short periods of unemployment. Asset ownership can also have long-term consequences for children. Research shows parental financial assets such as savings are positively associated with the cognitive development of school-age children. Homeownership is also known to have a positive effect on high school graduation. There are two major ways in which assets positively benefit children. First, housing assets can be seen as a proxy for the quality of residence. Homeownership provides residential stability, and the market value of homes often indicates the quality of school that children attend. Secondly, financial assets are potential resources for a family to invest in children. They can be used for sending children to preparatory schools or financing a college education. Thus, family assets can positively promote children’s well-being and educational achievements.
Family assets are particularly important for low-income families; however, the prospects are not particularly bright for building their assets. Given limited incomes, many low-income families often struggle to make ends meet and save. Between 1984 and 2001, the level of debt increased substantially among low- and moderate-income families, and the majority of low-income families experienced having family debt greater than or equal to 40 percent of total family income. Further, the bankruptcy rate among middle-class families has increased; and African-American and Hispanic middle class families are more likely to file for bankruptcy than their White middle class counterparts. This research brief investigates the status of asset ownership and debt among families with children aged birth to 18, using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) 2001 and 2007 data. It also examines disparities in asset holdings and debt by race and gender of family heads as well as age of children in the family. As asset holdings and debt can impact the well-being of children, in this report we examine the economic security of families with children based on family asset holdings and debt. First, we explore the concept of asset poverty and estimate the proportion of families who are asset poor, followed by the examination of debt and financial assets of families with children. The report concludes with policy implications and recommendations to promote the financial security of families with children.
Posted in Business and economics, Children and families, Housing and real estate, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Substance Use Treatment Need and Receipt among People Living in Poverty
Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (HHS)
+ Combined 2006 to 2008 data indicate that 3.7 million persons aged 12 or older living in poverty were in need of substance use treatment in the past year; of these, 17.9 percent received treatment at a specialty facility during this time period
+ Males living in poverty were nearly twice as likely as their female counterparts to have been in need of substance use treatment in the past year (17.1 vs. 8.9 percent), but males who needed treatment were as likely as their female counterparts to have received treatment
+ Among persons living in poverty, those aged 18 to 25 had the highest rate of past year treatment need; however, this age group had the lowest rate of treatment receipt
Posted in Health and healthcare, Mental health and substance abuse, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Europeans broadly satisfied with their lives, but survey highlights concerns over the future of the economic and social situation
Source: Europa
From press release:
Europeans are on average broadly satisfied with their personal situation, but less satisfied when it comes to the economy, public services and social policies in their country, according to an opinion survey released today. The Eurobarometer on the social climate in the EU also found large differences between countries, with people in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands generally most satisfied with their personal situation. The survey forms part of the European Commission’s Social Situation Report, also released today, which examines social trends in Europe, this year focusing on housing….
According to the Eurobarometer survey, a majority of Europeans are satisfied with life in general, giving an average score of +3.2 points (on a scale of -10 to +10). But there are big differences between Member States: the highest level of satisfaction was reported in Denmark, (+8.0), with Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland also having high levels. The lowest levels of satisfaction were reported in Bulgaria (-1.9), followed by Hungary, Greece and Romania.
When it comes to public services, Europeans are on average quite dissatisfied with the way their public administrations are run (-1.2 points). In every country, apart from Luxembourg and Estonia, Europeans feel that this has worsened over the last five years and expect it to continue to get worse (in all countries except Luxembourg).
When asked about specific public policies, Europeans are broadly satisfied with healthcare provision (+1.3 points), with people in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg most satisfied (over +5 points) and those in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania least satisfied (-3 points or less).
Europeans were most dissatisfied with the way inequalities and poverty are addressed in their country (-2 points). Only respondents in Luxembourg and the Netherlands awarded a positive score, while respondents in Latvia and Hungary were the most strongly dissatisfied (-5 points or worse).
The European Commission’s latest annual Social Situation Report shows that Europeans now spend more of their income on housing costs than they did ten years ago (almost 4 percentage points more), while mortgage debt has increased sharply across the EU.
On average, Europeans spend one-fifth of their disposable income on accommodation. Rent and mortgage payments only make up 30% of total housing costs in the EU while the other 70% pays for repairs, maintenance and fuel. Following housing privatisation, most people living in countries from the central and eastern EU Member States own their own homes, and charges for repairs, maintenance and fuel make up around 90% of total housing costs.
The report also looks at quality of housing and finds that many Europeans report living in sub-standard accommodation and that more people on low incomes report housing problems.
+ Social Climate Full Report (PDF; 8 MB)
+ Summary Report (PDF; 802 KB)
+ The Social Situation in the European Union 2009 – direct link from this page (PDF; 2.5 MB)
Posted in Business and economics, Europe, Health and healthcare, International, Labor, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
NCH Publishes “Winter Homeless Services” Report
Source: National Coalition for the Homeless (via National Coalition for Homeless Veterans)
The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) recently published a report, “Winter Homeless Services: Bringing Our Neighbors in from the Cold,” to raise awareness of hypothermia on the homeless population. The report notes that 700 U.S. citizens experiencing or at risk of homelessness die of the condition annually.
Data used in the report accounts for 94 reporting parties from 60 cities and counties across the country.
“We have, to the best of our ability, identified the main shortcomings and strengths of existing programs and used this information to draft recommendations for the benefit of people experiencing homeless nationwide,” NCH maintains in the section titled “Overview of Current Programs.”
+ Winter Homeless Services: Bringing Our Neighbors in from the Cold
Posted in Housing and real estate, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Giving children a healthy start
Source: Audit Commission
From the Summary:
Children have a right to enjoy the best possible health, but there are significant differences in their experiences. Children under five years living in deprived areas are 8 per cent more likely to be obese; 9 per cent more likely to be of a low birth weight; and 12 per cent more likely to have an accident than those living in the rest of England. Evidence clearly demonstrates that improving early years’ health contributes considerably to better health outcomes in later life, with reduced levels of diabetes, coronary heart disease and hypertension, all of which have a significant impact on the NHS as well as wider society, children and their families.
Children’s health has been an increasing priority for the government over the last ten years. Between 1999 and 2009 the government published over 20 policies relating to the health of under-fives (Figure 1). However, except for Sure Start and more recent policies such as the Healthy Child Programme, policy statements have largely focused on the 0 to 19 years age group or wider population public health, rather than on the under-fives.
Between 1998/99 and 2010/11 we estimate that £10.9 billion (including £7.2 billion for Sure Start, which had dedicated funding for health improvements in the early phase of roll-out) will have been invested in programmes aimed in whole, or in part, at improving the health of the under-fives, but this has not produced widespread improvements in health outcomes (Table 1). Some health indicators have indeed worsened – for example, obesity and dental health – and the health inequalities gap between rich and poor has barely changed.
+ Direct link to Summary (PDF; 1 MB)
+ Direct link to Full Report (PDF; 3 MB)
Posted in Children and families, Diseases and conditions, Documents in the news, Europe, Health and healthcare, Obesity, Poverty, Social and cultural issues, United Kingdom | No Comments »
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
Haiti + 27 = 28 Countries in Crisis
Source: UNICEF/United States Fund
As global attention focuses on efforts to provide lifesaving support to the people of Haiti, UNICEF today released its Humanitarian Action Report (HAR) 2010. This annual report spotlights the most severe crises impacting children and women around the world and includes an appeal for additional assistance.
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This year’s report highlights the situation of children and women in 28 countries and territories that have been identified as being in the most desperate need, and seeks $1.2 billion to help them. HAR 2010 emphasizes the increasing importance of partnerships to meet the needs of children and families affected.
Children are suffering in many different places, and for a range of reasons. In 2009, large-scale and repeated natural and man-made disasters struck Southeast Asia, while emergencies in the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan intensified.
+ Full Report
Posted in Children and families, Health and healthcare, Human rights, International, Natural Disasters, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Hunger in America 2010
Source: Feeding America
Hunger in America 2010 is the largest study of domestic hunger, providing comprehensive and statistically-valid data on our emergency food distribution system and the people Feeding America serves. Hunger in America 2010 is extremely detailed, drawing on data from more than 61,000 interviews with clients and surveys of 37,000 feeding agencies.
The report shows that hunger is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States, and our network is expanding its reach in response:
- Feeding America is annually providing food to 37 million Americans, including 14 million children. This is an increase of 46 percent over 2006, when we were feeding 25 million Americans, including 9 million children, each year.
- That means one in eight Americans now rely on Feeding America for food and groceries.
- Feeding America’s nationwide network of food banks is feeding 1 million more Americans each week than we did in 2006.
- Thirty-six percent of the households we serve have at least one person working.
- More than one-third of client households report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.
- The number of children the Feeding America network serves has increased by 50 percent since 2006.
+ Key Findings
+ Executive Summary (PDF; 1.5 MB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 10.3 MB)
Posted in Food and agriculture, Poverty | No Comments »
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Idaho’s Failing Indigent Defense System Detailed in New Report
Source: National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) released a groundbreaking report today that found that the state of Idaho fails to provide the level of representation required by our Constitution for those who cannot afford counsel in its criminal and juvenile courts. The report, The Guarantee of Counsel: Advocacy & Due Process in Idaho’s Trial Courts, details the lack of uniformity from one county to the next regarding who qualifies for a public defender, giving rise to the notion that justice in Idaho may very well depend on what side of a county line one’s crime is alleged to have been committed.
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The report, one in a line of NLADA reports that focuses on statewide reform of criminal justice systems, points to the practice of delegating to each county the responsibility to provide counsel at the trial level without any state funding or oversight. By doing so, the report states, Idaho sews a patchwork quilt of underfunded, inconsistent systems that vary greatly in defining who qualifies for services and in the level of competency of the services rendered. While the report also shows admirable qualities of some of the county indigent defense services, NLADA found that none of the public defender systems in the sample counties were constitutionally adequate.
+ Full Report
Posted in Government and politics, Legal and law enforcement, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
The Economic Recession: Early Impacts on Health Care Safety Net Providers
Source: Center for Studying Health System Change (via Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
While the recession increased demands on the health care safety net as Americans lost jobs and health insurance, the impact on safety-net providers has been mixed and less severe—at least initially—than expected in some cases, according to a new study of five metropolitan communities just released by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).
Even before the recession, many safety-net providers reported treating more uninsured patients and facing tighter state and local funding. Federal expansion grants for community health centers during the past decade, however, have increased capacity at many health centers. And, programs to help direct people to primary care providers may have helped stem the expected surge in emergency department use by the uninsured during the downturn.
Federal stimulus funding—the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—has assisted hospitals and health centers in weathering the economic storm, helping to offset reductions in state, local and private funding. And, the economic downturn has generated some potential benefits, including lower rents and broader employee applicant pools. While safety-net providers have adopted strategies to stay financially viable, many believe they have not yet felt the full impact of the deepest recession since the Great Depression.
+ Full Report (PDF: 344 KB)
Posted in Business and economics, Health and healthcare, Poverty | No Comments »
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Cities Outlook 2010
Source: Centre for Cities
The recession has widened the gap between UK city economies. Cities that were already suffering before the recession such as Barnsley and Stoke have been hit hardest, according to Centre for Cities’ annual economic index, out today.
Over the past two years, the difference between the two cities with the highest and lowest shares of residents claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance – Hull and Cambridge – has nearly doubled.
Cities Outlook 2010 finds that, as we move out of recession, the UK will face an uneven recovery. Already-robust city economies like Brighton are more likely to grow stronger, leaving others like Doncaster further behind. This raises tough questions about how they can carve out a future that’s economically sustainable.
The turnaround of our largest cities will be critical to the national recovery. More than one in three jobs (39%) in England is based in just five cities – Greater London and the City Regions of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool.
Brighton, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh have the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed. They have strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship, highly educated workforces and large shares of knowledge-intensive jobs. Brighton added the highest number of private sector jobs over the past decade – an extra 20,000 jobs. Over a third of its workforce is graduate-level – and one in five of its jobs are part of the knowledge economy.
Other cities, such as Stoke, Burnley, Barnsley, Newport and Doncaster, with their weaker business base, have a much tougher outlook. These cities all lost private sector jobs over the pre-recession decade. Their rate of business start ups is low and many of their residents have no qualifications.
+ Direct link to document (PDF; 3.1 MB)
Posted in Business and economics, Documents in the news, Europe, Industries, Labor, Poverty, Small business and entrepreneurship, Social and cultural issues, United Kingdom | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Rates of Participation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Vary by State
Source: Mathematica Policy Research
A new policy brief from Mathematica Policy Research detailing participation rates for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program, shows that, overall, 66 percent of all eligible people and 56 percent of the eligible working poor participated in SNAP in 2007. The participation rate—the percentage of the eligible population that participates in the program—is a widely used standard for assessing how well the program reaches its target population.
Mathematica’s study shows that state rates vary widely. Some states, like Maine, Missouri, and Tennessee, have consistently high participation rates, while others, like California, Colorado, and Wyoming, have consistently low participation rates. Regionally, the Western Region’s participation rate of 56 percent was significantly lower than the rates for all other regions. The Midwest Region had the highest participation rate in 2007—77 percent—significantly higher than the rates for all other regions.
+ Full Document (PDF; 1.3 MB)
Posted in Food and agriculture, Government and politics, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Who Are America’s Poor Children? The Official Story
Source: National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
More than 13 million American children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is $22,050 a year for a family of four. The number of children living in poverty increased by 21 percent between 2000 and 2008. There are 2.5 million more children living in poverty today than in 2000.
Not only are these numbers troubling, the official poverty measure tells only part of the story. Research consistently shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to make ends meet. Children living in families with incomes below this level – for 2009, $44,100 for a family of four – are referred to as low income. Forty-one percent of the nation’s children – more than 29 million in 2008 – live in low-income families.
Nonetheless, eligibility for many public benefits is based on the official poverty measure. This fact sheet – the first in a series focusing on economic and material hardship – details some of the characteristics of American children who are considered poor by the official standard.
Posted in Children and families, Poverty, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
