Oct. 14, 2004 – A study by three foundations found that more than 25 percent of America?s working families -- almost 39 million people -- live in poverty.
The report, issued by the Annie E. Casey, Ford and Rockefeller foundations, says that the quickly shrinking number of high-paying jobs has contributed to the increasing number of Americans living in poverty.
The study found that almost 25 percent of all available jobs do not pay enough to keep a family of four above the poverty level and that education also no longer always leads to decent wages. It also revealed that 3.9 million low-income working families have a member with some post-secondary education.
The government classifies a family of four as low-income if they made less than $36,784 in 2002.
