Home Local News UNITED WAY STUDY SAYS MORE IOWANS FACE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

UNITED WAY STUDY SAYS MORE IOWANS FACE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

1231
SHARE

A new study released Tuesday morning concludes 37 percent of Iowa households could not afford to pay monthly bills that cover the basic necessities of life in 2016.

The report identified 12 percent of Iowans living below the poverty line and another 25 percent of working Iowans living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Shane Orr, executive director of United Way of Muscatine, is chairman of the United Ways of Iowa board of directors, the group that commissioned the report.

OC……….more informed decisions.” :12

Iowans who are identified as “income constrained” live in both urban and rural Iowa.

Stephanie Hoopes is the former Rutgers University professor who did the research:

OC………modern economy. ;18

Those costs increased 26 percent for a single adult and 41 percent for a family of four.

That is much faster than the rate of inflation, which during that period was nine percent.

In 2010, about 18 percent of Iowa households with a working adult were living paycheck to paycheck.

The updated report indicates that increased to 25 percent by 2016.

Hoopes says working Iowans who are employed, but have few assets and little to no savings are “one emergency away from falling into poverty.”