For the first time in four financial quarters, Canadians' household net worth has increased — by $141 billion to $5.6 trillion in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Monday.

The agency credited a recovery in the stock market with padding the value of Canadians' household assets minus their liabilities. The S&P/TSX composite index increased about 20 per cent during the period, the federal agency noted.

Canadian household net worth rose by $141 billion in the second quarter of 2009. It's the first time in a year that there's been an increase, Statistics Canada says. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

"The resulting increase in the value of household financial assets (including shares, mutual funds and pension assets) was the principal factor behind the rise in household net worth," Statistics Canada said in a release.

The national average ratio of overall household debt also inched downward. The absolute amount of debt increased somewhat but was offset by the increase in assets, the agency said.

Households had 24.8 cents of debt for every dollar of net worth, compared with 24.9 cents in the first quarter.

But overall national net worth, which differs from household net worth in that it incorporates government and corporate sectors, declined by $68 billion to $5.9 trillion in the quarter.

It's the second straight quarterly decline. Driven by increased government debt and declines in the value of non-financial assets at corporations, national net worth has shed some $92.9 billion in the first half of 2009.

On a per capita basis, national net worth fell from $178,800 in the first quarter to $176,100 in the second quarter.