So far this century, Vermonters’ fortunes are stuck

If a lot of Vermonters feel they’re not getting ahead, they’re right. New Census data show that median household income in 2014 inched up to $54,166. But after adjusting for inflation, that’s 5 percent lower than before the recession. The buying power of the median Vermont household—half have incomes below the median and half have incomes above it—has basically stayed put since 2000.

Growing child poverty
For child poverty in Vermont, 2014 was the second worst year of the 21st century. The percentage of kids living below the poverty level hit 15.3 percent—a rate topped only in 2010, during the depths of the recession. Single mothers with children under 5 continued to be hit hardest. More than half lived below the poverty level in 2014, although the percentage dropped from the previous year.

Still-low unemployment
Vermont’s jobless rate held steady at 3.6 percent in August—the fifth straight month at that rate. But low unemployment does not necessarily signal economic recovery. The rate remained unchanged in August, but fewer Vermonters were working than in July. And since the end of the recession, as the jobless rate has fallen, other measures of Vermonters’ wellbeing—income and child poverty—has continued to worsen.

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