1.5 million Ohioans are living in poverty

from the Toledo Blade

Rate is the highest since 1960s: 13.3%

By KATE GIAMMARISE
BLADE STAFF WRITER

A new report has found a larger proportion of Ohio's population is living in poverty than at any time since the 1960s "War on Poverty."

In 2006, nearly 1.5 million Ohioans - 13.3 percent of the state's 11.5 million residents - were living in poverty, up from about 1.2 million in 1999, or 10.6 percent of the population then.

The poverty rate was 10 percent in 1969, rising as high as 12.5 percent in 1989.

The study was released last week, in conjunction with a state conference in Columbus. The same day, Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order creating a state anti-poverty task force.

Titled "The Real Bottom Line: The State of Poverty in Ohio 2008," the study was conducted by Columbus-based Community Research Partners for the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies.

In 2006, the poverty threshold was $20,444 for a two-adult, two-child family.

Historically, Ohio's poverty rate has been lower than the national average, but 2006 marked the first time it matched the national rate, according to the report.

Furthermore, the majority of Ohio's families in poverty are employed, it found.

"It is a misconception that people who are poor don't work," said Roberta Garber, executive director of Community Research Partners. "Somebody can be in a job making $10 an hour, and if they work full-time, they will still be below the poverty level."

According to the study, 1.1 million Ohioans over the age of 18 - about a quarter of the state's labor force - earned their paychecks in 2007 from jobs with wages of just under $10 an hour.

That has occurred as the state's economy is shifting away from good-paying manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing jobs in Ohio decreased by more than 137,000 between 2001 and 2005, and are projected to decline by another 77,000 jobs between 2004 and 2014.

The report also examined the demographics and geography of poverty.

Though poverty occurs in all parts of Ohio, the largest number of people in poverty, more than 200,000, was in the northeast and central part.

Ohio's Appalachian region in the southern and southeastern part of the state had the highest poverty rate, at 19 percent.

Northwest Ohio has a poverty rate of 13.5 percent.

County-by-county poverty rates for the most recent year available - 2005 - showed Lucas County had the highest poverty rate of the seven large urban counties - 17.5 percent. That compared with 17.1 percent in Cuyahoga County, 14.7 percent in Montgomery County, 14.7 percent in Franklin County, 14.3 percent in Mahoning County, 14 percent in Hamilton County, and 11.6 percent in Summit County.

To address the problem, the report makes a number of recommendations, among them, building an economy that works for everyone, investment in education and training for new jobs and industries, and improving access to adequate health care.

"Part of what we did is try to give some examples of how community action agencies are doing that," Ms. Garber said. "There are examples at the local level and the state level of programs that work."

One of the programs the report highlighted is the "Skills for Life" marine trades training program run by WSOS Community Action Commission in Oak Harbor.

Serving Wood, Sandusky, Ottawa, and Seneca counties, the program trains people for marine mechanic jobs.

"It was a recurring theme [from employers] that they were having a hard time finding marine mechanics," explained Kerrie Carte, a development specialist with WSOS.

Since 2000, more than 100 people have graduated from the program. Those who get a job in the marine trades earn an average of $16.95 an hour, according to the report.