Unemployment benefits save millions from poverty

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzes the recent poverty numbers put out by the U.S. Census Bureau and concludes that unemployment benefits have kept millions more from joining the swelling ranks of the officially poor in America.

The headline story in today’s Census Bureau report is the large jump in the poverty rate in 2009. But an exclusive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of the new survey data shows that unemployment insurance benefits — which expanded substantially last year in response to the increased need — kept 3.3 million people out of poverty in 2009.

In other words, there were 43.6 million Americans whose families were below the poverty line in 2009, according to the official poverty statistics, which count jobless benefits as part of families’ income. But if you don’t count jobless benefits, 46.9 million Americans were poor.

When those benefits expire, expect the numbers to get dramatically worse.