Six years after the Great Recession began in 2008, and four years after it officially ended in 2010, one million Hoosiers, including nearly 200,000 African-Americans, continue to live below the poverty level; many without jobs, in a state where income inequality is rising.
That’s some of the devastating and revealing statistics contained in the 2013 American Community Survey (ACS) released by the Census Bureau.
Here are important aspects from the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper’s analysis:
OVERALL POVERTY
The 2013 Census ACS reports poverty in Indianapolis rose in 2013. The poverty rate for city/county families in 2013 was 17.7 percent, up from 16.6 percent in 2012, 16.5 percent in 2011 and 16.3 percent in 2010.
Statewide, over a million Hoosiers lived below the poverty level in 2013. The state’s poverty rate was 15.9 percent; Since the Great Recession, the number of Hoosiers in poverty has risen 25.7 percent.
BLACK POVERTY
The number of African-Americans living in poverty in Indianapolis continued its steady increase.
Some 31.6 percent of African-Americans in Indianapolis in 2013 lived below the poverty level. The percent of African-American children under 18 living in poverty was 41.7 percent.
There was a huge jump in poverty among Black Indianapolis families with 30.4 percent living below the poverty level in 2013.
The actual number of African-Americans in the city/county in poverty in 2013 was 78,239.
Statewide, 1 in 3 African-Americans in Indiana, some 190,203 lived below the poverty level in 2013.
OVERALL UNEMPLOYMENT
The 2013 Census ACS reports that 10.6 percent of Indianapolis adults 16 and over were unemployed in 2013. But the rate of decline in unemployment slowed significantly in 2013 and was still below pre-recession levels.
Statewide, unemployment was 7.8 percent in 2013, down significantly from 8.8 percent in 2012 and 10 percent in 2011.
BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT
Black unemployment in the city/county in 2013 was 19.3 percent compared to 19.6 percent in 2012; basically unchanged.
Of the six townships in Marion County with the largest Black population, Black unemployment was highest in Center Township, 24.4 percent. The only good news about Black unemployment in Indiana is that in 2013 it fell statewide.
BLACK HOUSEHOLD INCOME
The 2014 Census ACS reported that Black median household income in Indianapolis continued to be stagnant. In 2013 it was $29,767 up slightly from $29,314 in 2012 and $29,599 in 2011.
However, Black median household income statewide showed a significant increase at $29,794, up from $28,469 in 2012 and $28,732 in 2011.
HOMEOWNERSHIP
An extremely disturbing statistic documented is the rapid deterioration of homeownership in the city/county. Just 52.9 percent of Indianapolis households own their homes. Since 2010, it’s estimated the number of homeowners in Indianapolis has plummeted by over 13,000 in just four years.
