Great recession did not cause surge in poverty.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Even as housing prices plummeted and unemployment rates hit double digits, the so-called Great Recession has not corresponded to a surge of Americans in poverty, according to a study by the Population Dynamics Research Group, Los Angeles, Calif. Young adults are in the segment hit hardest by the economic downturn, suffering higher unemployment rates, poverty, and the greatest losses in homeownership in the last decade.

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Among the most notable findings of the report:

* The national poverty rate rose at about the same rate during the Great Recession as during the economic boom of the 2000s. From 2006-09, the percentage of Americans in poverty increased from 13.3% to 14.3%.

* Over the last decade in California and Los Angeles, for instance, median household income in real dollars and house values improved. The...