Within Tuesday's report, it is important to note the continued and significant racial and gender gap in poverty in the US. 22 percent of African Americans (down from 24.1 percent in 2015) and 19.4 percent of Hispanic/Latinos (down from 21.4 percent in 2015) are poor, compared to 8.8 percent of non-Hispanic whites (whose poverty rate was 9.1 percent in 2015). African American and Latino children make up about 43 percent of all children, but two-thirds of all poor children. Their child poverty rates remain extremely high (30.8 percent of African American children are poor, as are 26.6 percent of Hispanic children).
The poverty rate for women ages 18 to 64 was 13.4 percent, while the poverty rate for men ages 18 to 64 was 9.7 percent. The poverty rate for women age 65 and older was 10.6 percent, while the poverty rate for men age 65 and older was 7.6 percent.
It is also important to note that 19.7% of children under the age of six are living in poverty, with 18% of all children under 18.
As Community Action Partnership CEO Denise Harlow said: "The challenge is to build on this positive momentum and build an economy that works for all. It is encouraging to see the decrease in poverty, but with more than 40 million of our fellow citizens living in poverty and 1 in 5 children, we need to keep moving the needle and investing in families. In addition, the racial and gender gap is unacceptable and needs to be addressed."
The data released Tuesday through the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) show the real impact of public policies on lifting families from poverty. The Center for the Study of Social Policy stated: "The number of people living in poverty would have been far greater had it not been for these critically important social programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and housing assistance. Collectively, these policies led to a reduction of people living in poverty... Without access to Refundable Tax Credits, for example, an additional 8.2 million people would be living in poverty."
