Poverty rates drop but lag behind nation and states

More than one in five children lived in poverty in Mahoning County in 1998, the Census Bureau reported.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Poverty rates decreased in the 1990s, but economic hard times, lower incomes and a lack of job diversity kept many areas in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys in a deeper rut than the nation.
Census Bureau statistics released Thursday show that in 1998, 14.1 percent of Mahoning County's residents lived in poverty, as did 13 percent in Columbiana County, 13 percent in Mercer County and 13.6 percent in Lawrence County. These represent a decline from rates reported in 1993.
They are, however, higher than the 1998 national poverty rate of 12.7 percent and a rate of 10.7 percent across both Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In Trumbull County, the 11 percent poverty rate remained below the national average but edged slightly higher than the state.
In 1998, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $16,660.
While dated, the Census Bureau says the new numbers give the most comprehensive look at poverty and income on the county level.
Analysis: "The fact that the numbers have gone down indicates the area had benefited from economic expansion but not to the same extent as the rest of the state and the rest of the nation," said Dr. Teri Riley, economics professor at Youngstown State University.
She said the area may have remained more impoverished because of lower income levels, higher than average unemployment rates, on average lower education levels and a job base that relies heavily on the service industry.
She pointed out, however, that the numbers do not reflect the recent downturn in the economy -- and that poverty rates may be higher today than the 1998 statistics indicate.
Trumbull's lower poverty rate may reflect a greater employment mix in the area because of the General Motors assembly plant's being in Lordstown. Riley cautioned, though, that the plant employs workers from various counties.
Jim Micsky, United Way of Mercer County executive director, said it is unclear why the poverty rates are higher in the Shenango Valley, where 30 percent of the labor force has retained a manufacturing job. He pointed to lower incomes.
"We've constantly been below the curve as far as median income," he said.
The average median U.S. income in 1998 was $38,885, Ohio's was $38,726 and Pennsylvania's was $39,116. All local counties came in lower than those numbers with Columbiana at $32,984, Mahoning at $32,821, Trumbull at $37,463, Lawrence at $31,367 and Mercer at $33,177.
Children: Riley said of grave concern is the number of children living in poverty in the area with 21.5 percent -- more than one in five -- impoverished in Mahoning County, according to the 1998 statistics. Other counties fare little better with 19.3 percent of children under 18 below the poverty level in Columbiana County, 17.9 in Trumbull, 21.4 in Lawrence and 19.9 in Mercer.
These numbers compare with an 18.9 percent child poverty rate in the nation and 16.4 in Ohio and 16.5 in Pennsylvania.
Across the board, the child poverty rate has decreased by anywhere from 2.5 percent to 6.7 percent with the least decrease in Mercer County and the greatest decrease in Mahoning County.
But the declines may not be reason to celebrate, cautioned Elsie Dursi, director of the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches.
As parents rise above the poverty level, they are working more, often holding two jobs, and spending less time with children, who are in the care of day-care workers.
The situation places strain on a family and entrusts the area's preschoolers to low-paid child-care workers who come and go.
Many may be above the poverty threshold but still unable to pay consistent utility bills or afford medical insurance.
"I don't know if it's better or worse," Dursi said.
She said people need to understand this decrease in the poverty rate "isn't free. It comes at a cost ... and we should be careful that the cost is not borne by our children."