This morning’s release by the U.S. Census Bureau of the 2011 data on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage is yet another reminder of the ongoing consequences of both the Great Recession and the weak business cycle that preceded it. A first take:

Poverty

• 15.0%: The share of the population in poverty in 2011
• 21.9%: The percent of children under 18 in poverty
• 46.2 million: The number of people in poverty in 2011
• $22,811: The poverty threshold for a family of four with two children
• 44.0%: The share of the poor population in “deep poverty,” or below half the poverty line
• 2.3 million: The number of people unemployment insurance kept out of poverty in 2011
• 21.4 million: The number of people Social Security kept out of poverty in 2011
• 5.7 million: How many fewer people would be in poverty if the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit was included in the Census definition of money income
• 3.9 million: How many fewer people would be in poverty if food stamps (SNAP) were added to money income

Income

• -1.7%, +5.1%: The change in average household income between 2010 and 2011 for the middle 20 percent, and the top 5 percent, respectively. The disparity means income inequality increased in 2011.
• $7,887, -12.4%: The decline in median working-age household income from 2000 to 2011 in level terms and percentage terms, respectively
• $6,518, -16.8%: The decline in median African-American household income from 2000 to 2011 in level terms and percentage terms, respectively
• $4,695, -10.8%: The decline in median Hispanic household income from 2000 to 2011 in level terms and percentage terms, respectively
• $50,622, $48,202:  Median earnings for a man working fulltime, full year in 1973 and 2011, respectively
• $28,699, $37,118:  Median earnings for a female working fulltime, full year in 1973 and 2011, respectively

Health insurance coverage

• 47.9  million: The number of people under 65 without any health insurance in 2011, down from 49.2 million in 2010
• 14.2 million: The decline in the number of people under 65 with employer-sponsored health insurance from 2000–2011
• 10.8 percentage points: The decline in the share of the under 65 population with employer-sponsored health insurance from 2000–2011
• 25 million: The increase in the number of people under 65 on government insurance (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid) from 2000 to 2011. Government insurance accounts for the increase in overall coverage from 2010 to 2011.
• 2.2 percentage points: The decline in the uninsured rate for persons aged 19–25 from 2010 to 2011, far higher than any other age group, likely due to the ACA provision to allow young adults to secure coverage through their parents’ employer-sponsored insurance policies.

For a comprehensive examination of how we got to where we are today, including additional details on income, poverty, economic mobility, wages, jobs, and wealth, see EPI’s The State of Working America, 12th Edition, released yesterday.

—With research assistance from Nicholas Finio, Natalie Sabadish and Hilary Wething