… The number of Americans plunged into poverty in 2009 reached a 15-year high.

The U.S. Census Bureau city poverty report will be out later this month, but the latest nationwide numbers are enough to paint a picture of an economic maelstorm that touched nearly everyone except the wealthy.

The damage runs deep. About 43.6 million Americans, up from 39.8 million, were in poverty last year. That’s one in seven residents — one in seven Americans living on less than $11,161 in pretax income if single or $21,756 for a family of four.

About 50 million people lacked health insurance, the highest number since 1987. …

The credibility of the bureau’s report is bolstered by anecdotes from local food pantries overwhelmed by hungry families. …

Of course, the answer to these economic woes — here in Greater Cleveland and around the country — is a big increase in full-time jobs with good pay.

How to accomplish that is the subject of much debate in Washington and in state capitols across the land. A region as susceptible to economic woe and as resistant to recovery as Northeast Ohio may well be sweating it out more than most.

Because here, we understand more clearly than most — from hard experience — that getting out of the clutches of recession isn’t easy.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer