Personal Income Up In Arkansas, Lags U.S. Average

The value of personal incomes in Arkansas was $106.347 billion in the second quarter of 2013, up 2.1% compared to the second quarter but below the 2.69% year-over-year increase in all 50 states.

Arkansas’ personal income grew only 0.55% between the first and second quarter of 2013, below the 0.96% U.S. average increase between the quarters. Personal income growth among the states ranged from 1.5% in Florida and Arizona to a 0.07% decline in Nebraska, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report [1] released Monday (Sept. 30).

Following are personal income comparisons for Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

• Arkansas (year-over-year)
2013 Q2: $106.347 billion
2012 Q2: $104.151 billion
up 2.1%

• Oklahoma (year-over-year)
2013 Q2: $159.569 billion
2012 Q2: $154.158 billion
up 3.51%

• Missouri (year-over-year)
2013 Q2: $240.912 billion
2012 Q2: $234.431 billion
up 2.76%

The report also includes revisions to the previous three full years of personal income data. The revisions note that Arkansas’ personal income was down 0.9% in 2010 compared to 2009; up 0.9% from 2010 to 2011; and up 2.1% from 2011 to 2012.

Nationwide, personal incomes were up 0.9% in 2010, up 1.8% in 2011 and up 2.4% in 2012.

The top five states with respect to personal income growth in 2012 were:

North Dakota (tie): 5.7%
Alaska (tie): 5.7%
Delaware: 5.4%
New Hampshire: 4.4%
Iowa (tie): 4.3%
Nebraska (tie): 4.3%

The BEA report, which focused on comparing first quarter and second quarter 2013 income levels, included the following analysis:

• State personal incomes grew 1% on average in the second quarter of 2013 after falling 1.3% in the first quarter.

• The first-quarter declines in state personal income mainly reflected the effects of special factors, such as the expiration of the “payroll tax holiday” and the acceleration of bonuses and personal dividends to the fourth quarter of 2012 in anticipation of changes in individual tax rates. Second-quarter growth completely offset the first-quarter personal income decline in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

• U.S. farm earnings fell 14.6% in the second quarter. Personal income fell in South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska as the declines in farm earnings in those states more than offset growth in all other components of income.

• The national price index for personal consumption expenditures was unchanged in the second quarter after rising 0.3% in the first quarter.

• The compensation of federal employees fell in most states in the second quarter. Overall, civilian federal government earnings fell 0.8%, military earnings rose 0.2%, and state and local government earnings were essentially unchanged.

• Dividends, interest, and rent (property income) increased $75.5 billion in the second quarter after falling $107.4 billion in the first. The level of personal dividend income was reduced in the first quarter reflecting accelerated and special dividend distributions paid in the fourth quarter of 2012 in anticipation of changes to individual income tax rates. The property income increase was especially notable in Florida where it accounted for more than half of the state’s second quarter personal income growth, which was the highest of all states.