OKLAHOMA CITY - An increasing number of Oklahoma families are already suffering difficult economic times, with poverty rates rising as costs go up for necessities, a report said Tuesday.

Tough times many families are having come despite an Oklahoma economy that continues to perform much better than most of the rest of the county.

The Oklahoma Policy Institute's On the Brink report points to a 2-percent increase in Oklahoma's poverty rate for the period of 2005 and 2006.

The state's poverty rate of 15.4 percent was the highest in more than a decade in 2006. A family of four was classified by the federal government as being in poverty that year if they had an income of $20,000 or less.

While Oklahoma is enjoying solid growth and declining unemployment, the report shows many low- and moderate-income households are in a bind because of a combination of stagnant income growth and rising prices.

"The extent existing hardships, coupled with ongoing state budget challenges, raises strong concerns about the welfare of vulnerable families if and when the national economic slump begins to be more deeply felt in Oklahoma," said the report by the new nonprofit organization based in Oklahoma City.

The report cited a 23-percent increase in bankruptcies for the first three months of 2008 and an increase in the number of mortgages in delinquency by more than 50 percent between the third quarter of 2005 and the third quarter of 2007.

It also pointed to Oklahoma having the sixth-highest rate of uninsured residents in the country and having the fifth-highest rate of individuals experiencing food insecurity.

"If the economic situation worsens, we can expect to see more Oklahomans who are currently on the brink of financial hardship falling into a deeper hole," said David Blatt, policy director for the institute.

Blatt said a declining economy will put more pressure on human service programs and agencies to respond to growing demands at a time when tax revenues are falling and agencies are not receiving enough funding to maintain their current levels of services.

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This article refers to the publication "On the Brink: Oklahoma Families are Already Facing Tough Times" which can be found here.