One In Three Kids In Scranton In Poverty

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As grim as the numbers are, Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly anticipated worse.

New U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday showed deepening poverty across Northeast Pennsylvania, particularly among children.

In Scranton, more than one of every three children – a whopping 33.5 percent – lived in poverty in 2012. Throughout the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metro area, the rate was one in four among kids and one in six across the entire population.

“I’m not surprised other than I thought the numbers would be higher overall,” said Monsignor Kelly, executive director of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton.

That he was wrong didn’t make him feel any better about the figures or the misery they represent.

“I don’t know how our families are surviving,” he said. “There is little or no help.”

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/one-in-three-kids-in-scranton-in-poverty-1.1555434

Pittsburgh’s Median Family Income Rises

Locator map of the Greater Pittsburgh metro area in the western part of the of . Red denotes the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, and yellow denotes the New Castle Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Pittsburgh-New Castle CSA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Household incomes rose in Pittsburgh in 2012 while the overall metropolitan area and the rest of the country saw incomes remain flat.

The city saw what the U.S. Census Bureau calls a statistically significant increase in household incomes as the median income rose by $3,281 to $39,884 from 2011 to 2012.

That happened as the median income in the seven-county metropolitan area stayed statistically the same, rising from $49,809 to $50,489. The median income for the metropolitan area was below the average of all U.S. metropolitan areas of $53,607.

The income information was contained in data released this morning as part of the American Community Survey.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/pittsburghs-median-family-income-rises-703920/#ixzz2fLzN7EPP

‘Eds And Meds’ Still Growing In Pittsburgh Region

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pittsburgh region’s 21st-century economy has often been referred to as one where manufacturing has been displaced by the “eds and meds” sector, but there remain pockets where local residents still lean heavily on the more traditional means of employment.

In nine Allegheny County municipalities, more than twice as many residents are employed in manufacturing as is the case in the county overall, according to new census data. Many of the communities are in the Route 28/Allegheny Valley corridor, where many light manufacturing firms operate — some of them growing and thriving.

The occupational information was just one nugget in a bounty of new American Community Survey data released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.  The data are based on a survey of the national population over a five-year span, from 2007-11, with the government deeming the sample size sufficient to release estimates for wide-ranging characteristics of every municipality.

While Allegheny County and the surrounding region once served as a manufacturing center for the nation, only 8.3 percent of the county’s workforce was employed in manufacturing in the modern era, the ACS data said.  That was down from 9 percent in the 2000 census and was less than the 10.8 percent for the nation as a whole.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/eds-and-meds-still-growing-in-pittsburgh-region-665151/#ixzz2EJ4ATXbo

Census Shows Continued Economic Suffering From Recession

Map of the 21 counties of the State of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The typical New Jersey household’s income dropped again last year, the fifth consecutive decline, according to new data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Not surprisingly, as incomes fell, the ranks of the poor rose.

“The latest federal statistics show there are more people in our state struggling in poverty than during any period in half a century,” says Melville D. Miller Jr., president of Legal Services of New Jersey. “That can cripple the development of our children and our state’s economic and social future.”

The latest Census estimates put the median household income in the state at $67,458. When adjusted for inflation, that was 3.4 percent less than in 2010 and 8.1 percent less than in 2008, the first full year of the recent recession. It’s also less than the actual, unadjusted, median incomes for the prior three years and only slightly above 2007’s actual median income of $67,035 — $72,666 in 2011 inflation-adjusted dollars.

Read more: http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/09/20//

U.S. Census Numbers: Allentown Economy Lagging

The PPL Building (seen here in the distance) is the tallest building in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Syreeta Redcross of Allentown takes care of her five children on her wages at a local logistics company.

The pay is relatively low, so the 28-year-old often has to scrape to afford the basics — like diapers for her kids. She relies on subsidized day care to be able to hold down a job at all.

Redcross stopped by the PA CareerLink Lehigh Valley job fair on Wednesday looking for a better-paying job.

“It’s very challenging,” she said. “It’s a struggle out there.”

Redcross’ struggles are far from unique, according to findings released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Read more:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-census-poverty-20120919,0,1785692.story