Despite reports of job growth, corporate profits and increased spending, the poor and the middle class continue to struggle as they attempt to recover from the recession.

New data released this week from the Census Bureau reports that income levels for the average American family, as well as poverty numbers, stayed the same in 2012 from the previous year.

The top 5 percent of earners made about as much as they did before the recession ended in 2009. But, according to an article in the New York Times, “those in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution are generally making considerably less than they had been, hit by high rates of unemployment and nonexistent wage growth.”

Here is a look at some recent articles about poverty around the area:

Poverty stuck at 15 percent — record 46.5 million – The News-Gazette

“The nation's poverty rate remained stuck at 15 percent last year despite America's slowly reviving economy, a discouraging lack of improvement for the record 46.5 million poor and an unwelcome benchmark for President Barack Obama's recovery plans.”

Report: Suburbs have as much poverty as the city – The Daily Herald

“As poverty skyrockets in the suburbs, a new report says the suburbs now have as many poor people as the city of Chicago.”

Census Bureau: Poverty Stays High, Number Of Uninsured Ticks Down – Progress Illinois

“New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the percentage of Americans in poverty stayed the same last year, while the number of those who are uninsured fell slightly during the same time.”

A recent article in American Prospect tackled the subject of poverty in a different way, "What's Killing Poor White Women?".
 

Take a look at our previous coverage of the issue by visiting Low-income households struggle to manage expenses.