Appalachian poverty rate may dip slightly

from the Evening Sun

The census bureau in the US will release the new poverty figures today. So you will see quite a bit mentioned about it here today, and how it relates to certain states or areas of the US. - Kale

By P.J. DICKERSCHEID

The number of Appalachian residents living in poverty is expected to fall slightly.

But anti-poverty experts say the slight improvement should be short-lived as wages drop, the job market weakens and household expenses rise.

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to release figures Tuesday on income, poverty and health insurance coverage from 2007.

In 2006, America's poverty rate was 12.3 percent, down from 12.6 percent the year before.

Appalachia includes all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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