Younger workers have highest poverty rates
April 05, 2001
In 1999, the poverty rates for younger workers were about twice as high as the average for all workers.
[Chart data—TXT]
Among workers age 16 to 19 years, 10.1 percent lived below the poverty level in 1999. For workers age 20 to 24, the poverty rate was about the same: 10.6 percent. These rates are about double the average of 5.1 percent for all workers.
Poverty rates of workers generally declined with age up to age 45. The poverty rates were about the same for workers age 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 and over—all were around 3 percent.
These data on the working poor are from the Current Population Survey. The above figures are for individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force in 1999. Find out more in "A Profile of the Working Poor, 1999," BLS Report 947 (HTML) (PDF 60K).
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United States Department of Labor
