After plunging in the aftermath of the recession, earnings in the U.S. are starting to pick up, a new report found.

The median household income, adjusted for inflation, climbed 3.8 percent in June from the same month in 2011 to $53,891, an analysis of census data by Sentier Research LLC showed. The gain wasn’t enough to overcome the plunge during the recession, with the median still 4.8 percent lower than in December 2007, when the economic slump began.

“After the steep drop in real median annual household income during the first two years of the economic recovery some measurable recovery” is taking shape, according to Gordon Green, a partner at Annapolis, Maryland-based Sentier. “Gains have not been shared equally by all groups.”

White and black households have fared better than Hispanic households over the past three years, the report found, and the self-employed have seen larger gains than those earning salaries at companies or government agencies.

Among regions, incomes climbed most in the Midwest, the report finds.

Households under the age of 25 “had a very large increase in their median income” as of June from the same month in 2011, posting a 10.1 percent gain to $35,331. Those 25 to 34 years old posted the next-largest advance, 6.1 percent to $54,835.