The number of Americans living in poverty and the number without health insurance increased in 2003 for the third straight year, according to survey results released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition, the nation’s inflation-adjusted median household income _ the amount at which half the nation earns more or less _ appeared to fall slightly for the second straight year. The decline was a statistically insignificant drop from $43,381 in 2002 to $43,318 in 2003. Since 2000, inflation-adjusted median income has declined by $1,535, or 3.4 percent.

The dismal numbers weren’t a surprise, but with the White House up for grabs in November, they triggered a lively round of finger-pointing. President Bush’s critics blamed administration policies. His supporters blamed the economy, especially aspects that presidents can’t control.

The number of people lacking health coverage rose from 43.6 million in 2002 to 45 million in 2003, the largest amount since the census began reporting the data in 1987. That’s a jump from 15.2 percent to 15.6 percent.

The number of poor Americans leapt by 1.3 million to 35.9 million. That’s an increase from 12.1 percent to 12.5 percent. Most of that increase _ 733,000 _ was among children. Their poverty level rose from 16.7 percent to 17.6 percent, the largest one-year jump since 1991.

The findings are from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, which queries 100,000 households annually nationwide by phone or in-person interviews.

Most experts see the numbers as indicators of individual and family well-being that mainly reflect the nation’s sluggish economy in 2003. The year was marked by tepid job growth amid the continued loss of manufacturing jobs, declines in costly employer-provided health coverage and funding cuts in state and federal health-insurance programs.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said the census numbers understated the effective incomes of poor Americans because the income data didn’t include various types of government aid to the poor, including the earned income-tax credit and food stamps. Census studies that include those benefits will be released in the fall, officials said.

President Bush, in an appearance Thursday in Las Cruces, N.M., didn’t comment directly on the new data, but said he needed to do more to improve health coverage and the economy.

“Listen, we’ve been through a lot, this economy. Think about it. We went through a recession; the stock market decline; we’ve been through attacks; we’ve had corporate scandals. But we’ve overcome these obstacles. … I also think we’ve overcome it because of well-timed tax cuts.”

Robert Greenstein, the executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal research organization in Washington, faulted the president. “Instead of tax cuts that mainly benefited the upper middle class, Bush should have opted for a targeted and smaller stimulus package that provided greater relief for working families,” Greenstein said. Instead, he continued, 2003’s numbers “were worse than they needed to be and reflected unwise policy choices.

Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry’s campaign released a statement saying the figures “confirm the failure of President Bush’s policies for all Americans.”

The survey also found that full-time working women earned 76 percent of what men earned in 2003, down from 77 percent in 2002. Ironically, the bad news was released on Women’s Equality Day.

“Women have a long way to go to achieve economic security, let alone economic equality,” said Christina Smith FitzPatrick, senior policy analyst at the National Women’s Law Center, an advocacy group.

Among other findings:

Hispanics were least likely to have health insurance. In 2003, 32.7 percent did without it, followed by blacks, at 19.4 percent, Asians, 18.6 percent, and non-Hispanic whites, 11.1 percent.

Non-Hispanic whites had the lowest poverty rate, 8.2 percent, followed by Asians, 11.8 percent, Hispanics, 22.5 percent and blacks, 24.3 percent.

Asians had the highest annual median household income in 2003, $55,300. They were followed by non-Hispanic whites, at $47,800, Hispanics, $33,000, and blacks (who reported one race), $29,700.

Only two states saw their average poverty rates decrease in 2003: Mississippi and North Dakota. Seven experienced increases: Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia.