Poverty Rate Jump in the Inland Empire is the 3rd Highest Increase in U.S.

Last week, census data revealed that 16.1% of L.A. County residents are living in poverty. Now data about the Inland Empire is surfacing and it's telling an even worse story: the region saw a 15.4% poverty rate in 2009.

That's a lower number than L.A. County, but the difference comes in the uptick. The Inland Empire's number comes after a 3.6% increase since 2007, L.A. County's is a 0.9% increase since 2008.

The I.E.'s jump in poverty level is the third largest increase in the U.S. and is just behind Bakersfield, which saw a 4.5% increase. The LA Times notes that unemployment in Riverside County is at 14.8%, a number that won't dive into single digit territory for years.