Report: Rhode Islanders’ personal income grew 1.9% in 4Q

RHODE ISLAND'S personal income growth rate over the past year was 1.9 percent; since the start of the Great Recession in fourth quarter 2007, it grew 1.2 percent, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. / COURTESY THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS
RHODE ISLAND'S personal income growth rate over the past year was 1.9 percent; since the start of the Great Recession in fourth quarter 2007, it grew 1.2 percent, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. / COURTESY THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Islanders’ personal income grew 1.9 percent in fourth quarter 2015 compared with the prior year period, and 1.2 percent from fourth quarter 2007, the start of the Great Recession, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Rhode Island’s growth rate over the past year landed it 30th in the nation, ahead of 20 other states, but below the national average at 2.9 percent. Massachusetts, in comparison, matched the national average for its growth of 2.9 percent in fourth quarter 2015 compared with a year earlier, ranking it 18th.
The Pew Charitable Trusts released a report earlier this month examining personal income growth trends in the 50 states. It said 17 states outpaced the 2.9 percent national average.
Pew said that personal income estimates are widely used to track state economic trends.
“As the economy expands or shrinks, state personal income also changes. These trends matter not only for individuals and families but also for state governments, because tax revenue and spending demands may rise or fall along with residents’ incomes. Comprising far more than simply employees’ wages, the measure counts all sorts of income received by state residents such as earnings from owning a business or investing, as well as benefits provided by employers or the government,” according to Pew.
It said that in the latest year of this post-recession expansion, all but six states made gains quarter over quarter, with North Dakota recording the largest over-the-year drop at 3.7 percent. It was preceded by Iowa, (-1.4 percent); Wyoming, (-1.2 percent); South Dakota, (-0.9 percent); Nebraska, (-0.6 percent); and Oklahoma, (-0.3 percent). Despite the drops, personal income in those states remained higher than before the recession, Pew said. California had the largest growth in personal income over the year at 5.1 percent, followed by Oregon and Utah at 4.1 percent; Nevada, 3.9 percent; and Tennessee, 3.8 percent.
Since the Great Recession began, personal income nationwide has grown 1.6 percent. In this category, North Dakota led the nation with 5.1 percent growth in personal income, followed by Texas at 3 percent and Alaska, at 2.6 percent. Nevada had the least growth since the Great Recession at 0.2 percent, preceded by Illinois at 0.6 percent; Maine and Connecticut at 0.8 percent; and Arizona, 0.9 percent. Massachusetts saw its personal income grow 1.7 percent since the Great Recession began, placing it above the national average at 19th in the nation, Pew said. Rhode Island ranked 39th for its 1.2 percent growth since the Great Recession, ahead of only 11 other states.

Personal income tallies residents’ paychecks, Social Security benefits, employers’ contributions to retirement plans and health insurance, income from rent and other property, and benefits from public assistance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, among other items, Pew said.

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