10 Spooky Facts About the U.S. Economy

The Increased Poverty Rate

The Census Bureau’s annual report, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, also had some scary findings: Americans living below the poverty line amounted to 15.1% of the population in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009 and the highest level since 1993.

Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points, according to the report.

The results are hardly surprising given the nation's high unemployment and underemployment rates. According to the report, since 2007, the number of men working full time year-round with earnings decreased by 6.6 million and the number of corresponding women declined by 2.8 million.

Also unsettling is that the report says that young adults aged 25-34 who are living with their parents had an official poverty rate of 8.4%, but if their poverty status were determined using their own income, 45.3% had an income below the poverty threshold for a single person under 65.