Poverty rate rises to 13.2 percent, and 46.3 million lack health insurance

The latest statistics on median income, poverty, and people without health insurance are in, and they make clear the severity of the recession in the U.S.

Real U.S. median household income fell 3.6 percent in 2008 to $50,303 from $52,163, breaking a string of three years of annual income increases, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday, in its annual report. (Read the full Census Bureau report by clicking here.)

Equally significant, the poverty rate rose to 13.2 percent in 2008 from 12.5 percent in 2007, the bureau said. As of 2008, 39.8 million Americans were living in poverty, up from 37.2 million in 2007.