New data: 2012 American Community Survey

New data released today from the 2012 American Community Survey (and also from Tuesday's release of the Current Population Survey) show no change in median household income, poverty rate, and health insurance coverage in the United States (nor change across the majority of states in the U.S.).

While this may seem like a bad news story, 2012 is the first year since the the beginning of The Great Recession in which income did not fall and poverty did not rise. While the trends do not yet show growth, 2012 may be the inflection point the economy has been waiting for.

One key point of note, older Americans seem to be faring better - or at least recovering from the recession quicker - than younger Americans with substantially lower overall rates of poverty (despite a bit of an increase from last year for those age 65+) and improving homeownership rates.

For a concise summary of the new data:
William Frey, of Brookings, discusses findings from the 2012 ACS on Morning Edition. (Note: I love that reporter/interviewer Steve Inskeep refers to today's data release as "Christmas for demographers.")