PROVIDENCE – Personal income for the nation rose 0.9 percent on average in the first quarter, and increased in 46 states, including Rhode Island, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Personal income – income received by all persons from all sources – in Rhode Island grew 0.7 percent in the first quarter compared with fourth quarter of 2014, to $52.9 billion from $52.6 billion, on an annualized basis, ranking the Ocean State 39th on the list for personal income growth.
Rhode Island ranked second-to-last among the New England states for personal income growth, ahead only of Vermont, which experienced a 0.6 percent increase. Maine ranked highest in New England for 1.1 percent growth in personal income (10th nationally), followed by Connecticut with a 1 percent increase (24th nationally), and New Hampshire and Massachusetts, 0.8 percent increases, (32nd and 33rd nationally, respectively).
Florida ranked first in the nation for personal income growth of 1.3 percent in the first quarter, while Iowa had the largest decline at 1.2 percent, the federal agency said.
Nationally, net earnings, a different measure of income, increased 0.8 percent in the first quarter, a slowdown from the 1.4 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2014, with the slower pace entirely in the private sector.
In Rhode Island, earnings rose six-tenths of a percentage point in the first quarter, again only ahead of Vermont, which reported a one-tenth of a percentage point increase. Connecticut had the greatest increase in earnings in New England at 1 percent, followed by Maine at 0.9 percent; Massachusetts, 0.8 percent; and New Hampshire, 0.7 percent.
