<P> During the 1990s, poverty among single - mother and their families declined rapidly from 35.4% in 1992 to 24.7% in 2000, a new historic low . However, due to the fact that low - income mothers who left welfare are likely to be concentrated in low - wage occupations, the decline in public assistance caseloads has not translated easily into reduction in poverty . The number of poor female - headed families with children dropped from 3.8 million to 3.1 million between 1994 and 1999, a 22% decline compared to a 48% decline in caseloads . As a result, the share of working poor in the U.S. population rose, as some women left public assistance for employment but remained poor . Most studies have found that poverty is quite high among welfare leavers . Depending on the source of the data, estimates of poverty among leavers vary from about 48% to 74% . </P> <P> TANF requirements have led to massive drops in the number of people receiving cash benefits since 1996, but there has been little change in the national poverty rate during this time . The table below shows these figures along with the annual unemployment rate . </P> <Table> Average monthly TANF recipients, percent of U.S. families in poverty and unemployment rate <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Average monthly TANF recipients </Th> <Th> Poverty rate (%) </Th> <Th> Annual unemployment rate (%) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 12,320,970 (see note) </Td> <Td> 11.0 </Td> <Td> 5.4 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 10,375,993 </Td> <Td> 10.3 </Td> <Td> 4.9 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1998 </Td> <Td> 8,347,136 </Td> <Td> 10.0 </Td> <Td> 4.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1999 </Td> <Td> 6,824,347 </Td> <Td> 9.3 </Td> <Td> 4.2 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2000 </Td> <Td> 5,778,034 </Td> <Td> 8.7 </Td> <Td> 4.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 5,359,180 </Td> <Td> 9.2 </Td> <Td> 4.7 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2002 </Td> <Td> 5,069,010 </Td> <Td> 9.6 </Td> <Td> 5.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2003 </Td> <Td> 4,928,878 </Td> <Td> 10.0 </Td> <Td> 6.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 4,748,115 </Td> <Td> 10.2 </Td> <Td> 5.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2005 </Td> <Td> 4,471,393 </Td> <Td> 9.9 </Td> <Td> 5.1 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2006 </Td> <Td> 4,166,659 </Td> <Td> 9.8 </Td> <Td> 4.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2007 </Td> <Td> 3,895,407 </Td> <Td> 9.8 </Td> <Td> 4.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2008 </Td> <Td> 3,795,007 </Td> <Td> 10.3 </Td> <Td> 5.4 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2009 </Td> <Td> 4,154,366 </Td> <Td> 11.1 </Td> <Td> 8.1 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 4,375,022 </Td> <Td> 11.7 </Td> <Td> 8.6 </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Average monthly TANF recipients </Th> <Th> Poverty rate (%) </Th> <Th> Annual unemployment rate (%) </Th> </Tr>

The number of families receiving assistance under tanf has dropped by
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