Fed keeps fibbing about recovery.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

Household wealth for Americans still has not recovered from the recession, despite the optimistic report from the Federal Reserve, maintains a study in the journal Economics Letters, which found that the mean net worth of U.S. households in 2013 still was about 14% below the pre-recession peak in 2006.

The Federal Reserve has stated that the net worth of Americans--which includes the value of homes, stocks, and other assets minus debts--essentially has recovered since the Great Recession. In fact, the Fed claims wealth is the highest it has been in nominal terms since records began in 1945.

However, the Fed's analysis includes four data issues that give a significant boost to its optimistic reading of the economy. The data fails to adjust for inflation or population growth; it includes accounts held by foreigners living outside of the U.S.; and incorporates wealth held by nonprofits and not merely households.

The study results show that the mean real net worth of U.S. households peaked in 2006 at $398,620. At the bottom of the recession in 2009, it fell to $217,687. It recovered to $333,859 in 2012, still 16% below its pre-recession high. Additional improvements in 2013 brought household wealth to 14% below the 2006 high.

Moreover, the recession and recovery did not affect all American households the same way. Less wealthy people and younger individuals lost more during the recession in percentage terms, but recovered more since then.

American...