CHICAGO—US government officials announced in the summer of 2009that the Great Recession was over, and the economy has expandedever since, if not as fast as most people desired. ButMesirow Financial's chief economist DianeSwonk notes that many of the problems that developed inthe run-up to the recession remain, and are sapping the strength ofthe middle class.

“Structural factors that triggered income inequalities,including a shortfall in skills, technological innovation andincreasing globalization, suggest that wages will remain suppressedfor the majority of workers for some time to come,” Swonk writes inher latest update on the economy.

Her report cites some good news, such as the decline of theratio of household debt to income to a pre-recession level, theincreasing availability of credit and other beneficialdevelopments. But many of the jobs created since 2009 pay wages toolow to support much consumer spending. The decline of real medianhousehold income has been sharp and persistent. In 2012 dollars,the median stood at $56,080 in 1999, then fell to $53,285 by 2009,and has kept sinking, hitting $51,017 in 2012.