Income gap widens as poor take hit in recession

Census: Income falls for all groups, but those at bottom feel worst effect

The recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest, widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans as rippling job layoffs ravaged household budgets.

The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans — those making more than $138,000 each year — earned 11.4 times the roughly $12,000 made by those living near or below the poverty line in 2008, according to newly released census figures.

Unemployment hurts normal workers who do not have the golden parachutes the folks at the top have.

They said while the richest Americans may be seeing reductions in executive pay, those at the bottom of the income ladder are often unemployed and struggling to get by.

Income at the top 5 percent of households — those making $180,000 or more — was 3.58 times the median income, the highest since 2006.

The 2008 figures come from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey, which gathers information from 3 million households. The government first began tracking household income in 1967.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33066877/ns/business-stocks_and_economy