Personal Income Drops

From today’s SBJ (emphasis is mine):

Personal income dropped by 1.7 percent nationwide in 2009, according to information released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

National personal income totaled $12 trillion in 2009, down from $12.2 trillion in 2008. In Missouri, personal income dropped by 1.4 percent, to $213.6 billion, mirroring both the national trend and the 1.9 percent drop in the Plains region as a whole. The Plains region comprises Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Only seven of the 51 states, including the District of Columbia, posted personal income gains last year. West Virginia led the pack at 2.1 percent, followed by 1.1 percent in Washington, D.C., 1 percent in Maryland, 0.9 percent growth in Maine, 0.7 percent in Virginia, and 0.4 percent growth in both Kentucky and Hawaii.

Gains in Maryland and Virginia were attributed to increased earnings from commuters who work in Washington, D.C.; increases in Maine, Kentucky and Hawaii were related to increases in transfer receipts, which offset declines in property income and net earnings, according to a BEA news release.

The largest losses were in Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, New York and Michigan, which all posted declines of at least 3 percent. Those losses are explained, respectively, by drops in accommodations; mining and construction; farming; finance; and durable goods manufacturing.

All regions of the country posted losses in personal income, though the drop in the Southeast was the smallest, at 1.1 percent.