The U.S. economy worked its way through a major structural change in the 1980s and 1990s, as employers adjusted to the new computing and communications technologies, and a trade-dominated globalization of many economic activities. Poverty rates rose in the early 1980s and again in the early 1990s, as business downturns worsened the impact of structural change. But by the end of the prosperous 1990s, real income finally surpassed previous highs, and more people moved out of poverty. The total number of people in poverty fell by almost 5 million between 1993 and 1998. In 1998, 12.7 percent of Americans were poor, compared with the record low of 11.1 percent measured a quarter century earlier.
Poverty continues to characterize some population groups more than others.
These persistent racial differences reflect many demographic differences, as well as discrimination in the workplace, and they are reinforced by differences in ownership of assets and other kinds of wealth, including home ownership and inheritance prospects. The challenge of being both breadwinner and caretaker can be particularly overwhelming for women who lack education and other economic resources. Two relatively recent trends are the improving situation of older Americans, especially in recent decades, and the deteriorating situation of children. In the 1960s, older Americans were much more likely than young Americans to live below the poverty threshold. This situation reversed in the mid-1970s.