Incorrect

Over the years, the poverty rate has gone up and down, but there has been an overall downward trend. In the late 1950s, the overall poverty rate for individuals in the United States was 22 percent (or 39.5 million). In the 1960s, there was a dramatic decline to about 12.1%. Due to a slowing economy, the rate rose slightly in the early 1970s but soon began to decrease again. By the mid seventies the poverty rate stabilized around 11.5% until the late seventies. By 1983, the poverty rate was at 15.2% and through most of the 80s it was around 13%. In 1993, it reached a high of 15.1% but fell steadily through the remaining decade. In 2000, the poverty rate was around 11.3% (or 31 million people). In 2001 the poverty rate began to rise. By 2005, the number of people living in poverty had risen to 37 million (12.6 percent of the population).

It is important to remember, however, that these figures reflect an average of all groups. Various groups, such as female-headed households, tend to have much higher rates of poverty.

Source: Institute for Research on Poverty, http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/faqs/faq3.htm