Census finds record gap between rich and poor

By HOPE YEN Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record.

New census figures show that young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession.

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans - those making more than $100,000 each year - received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S. That's compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line.

A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.