MEDIAN INCOME DOWN, POVERTY UP NATIONWIDE.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.7 million last year, and the median household income declined by 1.1 percent, the Census Bureau reported Friday. The worsening economic conditions, down for the second year in a row, fell heaviest on Midwesterners and nonwhites.

It was the second straight year of adverse changes in poverty and income, the first two-year downturn since the early 1990s.

Los Angeles defied the national trend by showing a sharp drop in the number of the city's poor, from 23.1 percent in 1990, to 18.8 percent between 2000 and 2002. The San Fernando Valley, however, had a surge in poverty in the 1990s, from 11 percent to 15 percent, and continued to see an increase in the first two years of this decade, to 15.3 percent.

The data, results of the Census Bureau's annual Current Population Survey, the official barometer for measuring income and poverty rates, showed that lingering negative effects of the recent recession cut across a broad swath of the population.

The official poverty rate rose to 12.1 percent in 2002 from 11.7 percent the year before, bringing the total number of people living below the poverty line to 34.6 million. The median household earned income fell $500 over the same period to $42,400. Per capita income declined by 1.8 percent in 2002 to $22,794, the first decline since 1991.

Daniel H. Weinberg, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, said the findings were consistent with the bureau's expectations. ``If you look at the historical timeline trend, there is a lag with poverty rates,'' he said. ``Low points in poverty and income seem to come the year after a recession ends.''

The most recent recession technically ended in November 2001, though job losses have continued at high rates this year.

The White House largely deflected questions on the data. ``The actions that we've taken to boost the economy and to create jobs are essential to turn this around,'' said Scott McClellan, White House spokesman, at his daily press briefing. He pointed instead to newly released figures from the Commerce Department that showed a bigger than expected rise in the gross domestic product.

A 3.3 percent increase in GDP in the second quarter of this year, McClellan suggested, indicates that the economy is moving in a positive direction. Gross domestic product is considered a leading economic indicator, while poverty is seen as a lagging indicator.

In general, poverty rates over the past two years have not been as severe as they were in the aftermath of past recessions, a point several conservative analysts pointed out.

``As recessions go, this is extremely good news,'' said Robert E. Rector, senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation. ``This shows that this has been a shallow recession that has been mild in its impact, and it also shows the positive impact of welfare reform, which has kept more women in the work force.''

The Midwest was the only area of the country to have a significant jump in poverty rates, increasing to 10.3 percent from 9.4 percent a year earlier. Real median income declined 2 percent in the region, with drops in key battleground states for next year's presidential elections, including Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.

The poverty threshold for a family of four is $18,392. For individuals, the amount is $9,183. The percentage of people in severe poverty, those with incomes below half of the poverty threshold, increased to 14.1 million from 13.4 million.