Incomes still well below pre-recession levels

Median household incomes, before taxes and adjusted for inflation, have risen 2.2% in the last year through June, according to Sentier Research, a consulting firm founded by Census Bureau researchers. They remain 7.2% below where they were in December 2007 — the start of the recession — and 4.8% below when the recession ended in June 2009, Sentier reported.

The recent improvement was concentrated in late 2011, but the median has slipped slightly this year, in part because of inflation, Sentier partner Gordon Green said. "Inflation is a big player now" in future household budgets, Green said. "Incomes have flattened out, and gas prices are going up again."

Consumers have lost more ground since the recession ended than they did while it was still occurring, the report said, repeating a conclusion Sentier published last year. The damage has been much worse, predictably, in homes where the person listed as the property owner or renter has been unemployed. Their incomes are down 22.6% since June 2009. But even households where the primary earner has been employed continuously also have incomes almost 5% lower than in June 2009. Read more>>