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June 19, 2009

Personal income edges up in Q1

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Maine's personal income rose 0.2% during the first quarter of the year while every other New England state suffered declines.

Connecticut posted the largest drop in personal income of the six states at 1.2%, followed by Massachusetts and Rhode Island at 0.6%, according to new data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. Nationally, personal income dropped 0.5% between January and March, with 37 states seeing declines. The BEA attributed the drop to lost jobs, lower interest rates and shrinking corporate dividend payments, but also noted an offsetting slight decline in inflation. Maine's total personal income was approximately $47 billion in the first quarter of 2009.

Maine's percent increase was the eighth-highest in the nation. Wages, dividends, interest and rent payments all fell, but were counterbalanced by a 4.19% rise in transfer receipts, payments that include retirement, disability and unemployment benefits. Earnings in construction posted the biggest drop of any industry in Maine, down 4.17%, while utilities earnings climbed more than 3%.

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