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Idaho personal income jumps $2.7 billion
in 2011 |
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March 29, 2012 |
Despite a comparatively sluggish fourth quarter,
Idaho’s personal income grew faster than the
nation’s in 2011, jumping over $2.7 billion to a
record $52.8 billion.
The 5.4 percent increase from 2010 was
three-tenths of a percentage point higher than
the personal income increase nationally and
ranked 11th among the states, according to
estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
Personal income is the value of all wages,
business profits, investment earnings and
transfer payments like Social Security,
unemployment benefits and pensions.
The increase was driven by significant growth in
net earnings, primarily in business profits.
Wages, including employer contributions to
pensions and Social Security, rose 2.5 percent,
and business profits were up 15 percent. Idaho’s
percentage wage increase ranked 46th among the
states – only Mississippi, Maine, Alabama and
New Mexico were lower – while the rise in
business profits ranked third behind Iowa and
Nebraska.
Nearly every sector of the Idaho economy posted
income increases, led by farming at over 41
percent. The exceptions were construction, which
continued the decline since its peak in 2007,
recreation and the federal government.
Idaho’s 2011 growth beyond the national average
was built on performance during first three
quarters of the year, although over half the
annual gain in wages occurred during the last
three months of the year. Overall, personal
income, on an annualized basis, rose just
seven-tenths of a percent in the
October-December quarter, two-tenths of a point
below the national increase to rank midway among
the states. |
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