Census Figures Show Drop In Alabama Poverty

(AP) - U.S. Census figures show that more
people moved above the poverty line in Alabama than in any state in
the country.
But advocates for the poor say many in Alabama continue to
suffer the effects of poverty and that the census numbers were
gathered in 2008 before the worst effects of the recession hit the
state.
The census figures reported Wednesday by the Press-Register in
Mobile show that the number of people below the poverty line fell
by 47,000 to 712,835. That was the largest numerical drop of any
state.
Alabama's poverty rate fell 1.2 points to 15.7 percent. Alabama
is tied with South Carolina with the 10th highest rate of poverty
in the country.
Nationwide, the poverty rate rose to 13.2 percent, an 11-year
high.