JACKSON — Personal income growth in Mississippi trailed the nation in the second quarter, dragged down by a drop in farm income and slow growth in the service sector.
The economic measure expanded 0.5 percent, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis said Monday, ranking 44th among states. Personal income in the United States as a whole grew 1 percent from April to June.
Farm income, which can be among the most volatile parts of the measure, fell more in Mississippi than nationwide. A decrease in government transfer payments also hurt the state’s performance
Personal income is all of income received from every source, including wages, business owner profits, interest, dividends, rent and government transfers. It’s not the same as a measure of the overall economy, but can be a rough proxy.
Among the states, Arizona performed the strongest, with personal income rising 1.5 percent. Nebraska was the weakest, falling 0.7 percent. Iowa and South Dakota, which like Nebraska saw particularly bad farm earnings, also had personal income fall.
Of the three major categories of personal income — work-related earnings, investment income and government transfer payments — only transfer payments fell in Mississippi. The state lagged the national performance in all three categories, though.
Most sectors in the state’s work-related earnings grew, with construction and wholesale trade the biggest contributors. The state lagged in some high-paying service sectors, such as finance and insurance; professional, scientific and technical services; administrative and waste services and management of companies.
Besides farming, federal civilian employment and educational services shrank slightly in Mississippi.
Online: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2012/pdf/spi0612.pdf
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