Mainers' personal income drops 1% in Q1
Personal income in Maine declined by an average of almost 1% in the first quarter of 2013, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Nationwide, states' personal income declined by an average 1.2% -- putting Maine at slightly better than the national average.
Personal income declines ranged from 0.1% in Iowa to 2.5% in Wyoming. The only state with an increase in the first quarter was South Dakota, where personal income grew 1.6%.
Inflation slowed to 0.2% in the first quarter from 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the bureau.
The bureau attributed the decline in first quarter personal income to the expiration at the start of 2013 of the "payroll tax holiday" (a temporary two percentage point reduction in the personal contribution rate for Social Security) and the acceleration of salary bonuses and raises that took place in the final quarter of 2012 in anticipation of first-quarter changes in individual income tax rates.
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