Child poverty rates fall dramatically with pandemic safety net measures: Child poverty rates using the Supplemental Poverty Measure, as reported and imputed to correct for series discontinuities, 2009–2021
| SPM (imputed) | SPM (as reported) | SPM (as reported) | SPM (as reported) | SPM (as reported) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 17.4% | 17.0% | |||
| 2010 | 18.3 | 17.9 | |||
| 2011 | 18.4 | 18.0 | |||
| 2012 | 18.4 | 18.0 | |||
| 2013 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 18.1% | ||
| 2014 | 15.8 | 17.1 | |||
| 2015 | 14.9 | 16.2 | |||
| 2016 | 13.9 | 15.2 | |||
| 2017 | 14.3 | 15.6 | 14.2% | ||
| 2018 | 13.8 | 13.7 | |||
| 2019 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 12.6% | ||
| 2020 | 9.7 | 9.7 | |||
| 2021 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
Notes: Using methods outlined in Rothbaum and Edwards 2019, I impute across back in time from the series breaks in 2013 and before for redesigned questions, in 2017 and before for the updated processing system, and in 2019 and before for the implementation of the revised Supplemental Poverty Measure methodology. No adjustment was necessary for the 2020 census-based population controls as Table C-3 shows, there was no statistical difference in the estimation of SPM child poverty with the 2010 and 2020 Census-based controls.
Source: EPI analysis of United States Census Bureau Supplemental Poverty Measure data.