Low unemployment and higher wages are two factors helping fight poverty, said George Vredeveld, director of the Center for Economic Education at the University of Cincinnati. But Liz Carter, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's Cincinnati District Council, said she hasn't noticed less poverty. The nonprofit organization's West End office has seen a 35 percent increase in emergency clothing and food requests since April, Ms. Carter said. Requests often come from jobless and single mothers struggling with minimum-wage jobs and several children to support. Poverty fell among people 65 and over, ages 24 to 44 and among children, although children under 6 remained particularly vulnerable to being poor.
Women continue to lag in income.
The median earnings of men who worked full-time rose by 1 percent, while the earnings of comparable women remained the same. In 1999 earnings, women earned 72 cents for every dollar earned by men. This category rose for all racial groups except Hispanics. The Cincinnati Enquirer , a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper.