Middle-class income rose above $61,000 for the first time last year, U.S. Census Bureau says

[donnay]

Middle-class income rose above $61,000 for the first time last year, U.S. Census Bureau says

By Heather Long and Jeff Stein
September 12 at 10:27 AM

Middle-class income rose to the highest recorded levels in 2017 and the national poverty rate declined as the benefits of the strong economy lifted the fortunes of more Americans, the U.S. Census reported Wednesday.

The median U.S. household earned $61,372 last year, meaning half of the families in the country brought in more income than this and half earned less.

Crossing the $61,000 mark signals the American middle-class may have finally earned more than it did in 1999, although the Census Bureau cautions that median income last year was not statistically different from 1999 or 2007. A change in methodology in 2013 makes precise comparisons difficult. All the income figures have been adjusted for inflation and are reported in 2017 dollars.

Middle-class household income has been rising steadily in recent years as the economy has rebounded from the deep recession and millions of Americans have found jobs again. The extra pay from having another person in the home working again or working additional hours is the largest factor contributing to rising income.

"We’re continuing to see a shift from part-time to full-time work, so some of that could explain an increase in income,” said Trudi Renwick, an assistant division chief at Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau also reported that the U.S. poverty rate declined modestly to 12.3 percent, the lowest level in years and a sign the economic devastation from the Great Recession is subsiding.

But by other measures, the economy is still not working for everyone. The percentage of Americans without health insurance stalled last year after several years of progress to extend coverage to more people under the Affordable Care Act.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.1a49cb114a88

[DamianTV]

The only trouble is the purchasing power of the dollar is far less than it was in 1999.