A Profile of the Working Poor, 2008

Abstract

[Excerpt] This report presents data on the relationship between labor force activity and poverty status in 2008 for workers and their families. The specific income thresholds used to determine people’s poverty status vary depending on whether the individuals are living with family members or are living alone or with nonrelatives. For family members, the poverty threshold is determined by their family’s total income; for individuals not living in families, their personal income is used as the determinant. The data were collected in the 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. (For a more detailed description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report, see the Technical Note at the end of the report.)