Hard_Rom
Northumbrian Skald
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pew-middle-class-america-1.3358724
U.S. middle class now smaller than combined number of rich and poor, Pew says
120.8 million middle-class adults in U.S., but 121.3 million in combined upper and lower incomes
For the first time in at least 40 years, the number of middle class Americans is now smaller than the number of those in the economic tier above and below. That's according to an analysis of government data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve conducted by the Pew Research Center, which looked at income data stretching back from 1971 to 2015.
The group defines "middle class" as any three-person household that earned between two-thirds and double the median income. In 2015, that would include every household that earned between $42,000 US and $126,000 US this year. For households smaller or larger than three people, the parameters are slightly lower and higher, but a three-person home is the benchmark, Pew said.
"The distribution of adults by income is thinning in the middle and bulking up at the edges," the report says.
While it's the first time the middle class's share has dipped to 50 per cent or below, 2015's data are in keeping with a decades-old trend. Since the 1970s, Pew says every decade has ended with a smaller percentage of Americans being in the middle class than started the decade in that segment.
Last year, a full 49 per cent of all income earned in the U.S. went to upper-income households. In 1971, that figure was 20 per cent. There are more people on the bottom end, too. In 2015, 20 per cent of American adults were in the lowest-income tier, up from 16 per cent in 1971, Pew said.
At the other end of the pool, nine per cent are in the highest-income tier, more than double the four per cent slice in 1971.
U.S. middle class now smaller than combined number of rich and poor, Pew says
120.8 million middle-class adults in U.S., but 121.3 million in combined upper and lower incomes
For the first time in at least 40 years, the number of middle class Americans is now smaller than the number of those in the economic tier above and below. That's according to an analysis of government data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve conducted by the Pew Research Center, which looked at income data stretching back from 1971 to 2015.
The group defines "middle class" as any three-person household that earned between two-thirds and double the median income. In 2015, that would include every household that earned between $42,000 US and $126,000 US this year. For households smaller or larger than three people, the parameters are slightly lower and higher, but a three-person home is the benchmark, Pew said.
"The distribution of adults by income is thinning in the middle and bulking up at the edges," the report says.
While it's the first time the middle class's share has dipped to 50 per cent or below, 2015's data are in keeping with a decades-old trend. Since the 1970s, Pew says every decade has ended with a smaller percentage of Americans being in the middle class than started the decade in that segment.
Last year, a full 49 per cent of all income earned in the U.S. went to upper-income households. In 1971, that figure was 20 per cent. There are more people on the bottom end, too. In 2015, 20 per cent of American adults were in the lowest-income tier, up from 16 per cent in 1971, Pew said.
At the other end of the pool, nine per cent are in the highest-income tier, more than double the four per cent slice in 1971.
