The US Census Bureau came up with an upbeat report on Tuesday according to which wages of working Americans have risen and the percentage of people without health insurance has declined in 2007.

Figures released in the census report brought some cheer to an economy still struggling with the effects of a slow down. In 2007, the income in median households rose by 1.3 percent from $49568 in 2006 to $50233 last year. The number of American without health insurance dropped from 47 million in 2006 to 45.7 million in 2007. the poverty rate remained essentially unchanged with the proportion of the population living in poverty rising only marginally from 12.3 percent in 2006 to 12.5 percent in 2007.

However experts have warned that this census report does not include the effects of the economic slump which began in late 2007 and which continues to negatively impact the growth rate. The slow down in economy has led to large scale job cuts, rising inflation and falling wages. in the report too, some figures reveal worrying trends. For instance in 2007, the inflation-adjusted median income in working age households was $1100 less than it was in 2001 when the country was in recession.