USA - poverty

In a further setback to U.S. President Barack Obama's economic plans, new figures are set to show one in seven Americans is now living in poverty.

The increase in the number of people living below the poverty line is the sharpest since 1959, a new census will reveal.

The figures represent around 45 million people, out of population of 307 million, living in poverty and the situation is expected to get worse with the overall poverty rate potentially rising to 15 per cent.

One in five American children have fallen below the poverty line as America continues to struggle to recover from the recent global recession

Read more: dailymail.co.uk