According to the latest data from the US Census Bureau, the number of American citizens living below the poverty line reached 46.2 million last year.

The 2010 poverty rate of 15.1% is the highest since 1993, and is significantly higher than the 2009 figure (14.3%).

The definition of poverty employed by the Census Bureau is an annual income of $22,314 (£14,129) or less for a family of four, or $11,139 for an individual. Worryingly, the number of people below this poverty line in the USA has now risen for four consecutive years.

The figures also tell of large inequalities between different ethnic groups within the United States. Poverty among the black and hispanic populations, for instance, is far greater than the national average – at 27.4% and 26.6% respectively.

Younger Americans were also badly affected – poverty among under 18s rose 1.3% since 2009.

Says Heidi Shierholz, of the Economic Policy Institute think tank, "Deterioration in the labour market caused incomes to drop, poverty to rise and people to lose their health insurance. One of the immediately obvious issues this brings up is that there is no relief in sight."

The figures certainly provide cause for concern, and will be the subject of much debate in the coming weeks.

In the Autumn 2011 issue of Re:locate, our USA focus analyses what is going on over here and over there, covering everything from culture to policy initiatives and tax.