American incomes are actually getting better and better

Thomas Galvez/Flickr

Income inequality is a huge problem in the U.S., but overall income is actually going up.

In comparing income increases across three generations among whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, a new Brookings report suggests American incomes actually rose in 2013 and 2014.

"The facts may not fit the narratives of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or Bernie Sanders, but they do help explain why President Obama's job approval and favorability ratings have finally passed the 50 percent mark," writes Robert Shapiro, a senior fellow of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Shapiro's research into Census data found millennials saw the biggest gains overall — not surprising, according to the author, since younger households "have been the group with the fastest-rising incomes" for decades, and "the recent period is no exception."

White millennials saw 2.9% growth, African Americans saw 3.0% growth, and Hispanics saw 3.2% growth.

In fact, at every age cohort, Shapiro notes, Hispanics had the fastest-growing incomes of the three ethnicities. He attributes the prosperity to the 2.5 million net new jobs created in 2013, the 3 million in 2014, and the cash subsidies Obamacare offered to low-income households.

Thomas Galvez/FlickrOne of the more surprising findings was that 2013 and 2014 were good years for people without a high-school diploma. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers without a diploma made more progress raising their incomes than people who'd gotten a diploma. Millennials were the only group that didn't see the trend, Shapiro notes.

After several years of decline, the incomes of those without high-school diplomas began to rise 3.1% in 2013 and 2014. Those with a high-school diploma, however, saw 5% gains over the same period.

The data doesn't offer any insights about income inequality, however — only the average rise and fall of the entire group.

Once the Census data for 2015 comes out in a few months, Shapiro expects to see even more hopeful data.

"We already know that the economy created another 2.65 million new jobs in 2015," he explains. "If, as expected, the broad income progress seen in 2013 and 2014 persists in 2015, it will rebut much of the economic message touted by Trump and badly weaken Sanders's critique of Hillary Clinton."

Even after November's election, the progress will be felt in millions of households across America.

NOW WATCH: ‘Number one with Hispanics!’ — Trump obliterated Republicans in Nevada