US poverty rate drops for the first time since 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) — The poverty rate in the United States has dropped for the first time since 2006, bringing a bit of encouraging news about the nation's economy as President Barack Obama and Congress gear up for midterm elections.

The U.S. Census Bureau, in its annual look at poverty in the United States, said that the poverty rate in 2013 was 14.5 percent, down from 15 percent in 2012. The decrease in the poverty rate was attributed to the growth in year-round employment by 2.8 million jobs in the United States, government officials said.

White House officials cheered the positive information in the census release.

"There is reason to believe that this progress has continued into 2014, as the labor market has strengthened and millions have gained health insurance coverage," said Jason Furman and Betsey Stevenson, members of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. "At the same time, the data also offer a clear illustration of the large amount of work that remains to strengthen the middle class in the wake of the worst recession since the Great Depression."