R.I., Mass. personal income growth tops in N.E., match U.S.

RHODE ISLAND AND Massachusetts personal incomes rose 1.1 percent in the third quarter, matching the U.S. national average and tying with Maine for the highest personal income growth in New England. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
RHODE ISLAND AND Massachusetts personal incomes rose 1.1 percent in the third quarter, matching the U.S. national average and tying with Maine for the highest personal income growth in New England. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

PROVIDENCE – Personal incomes in Rhode Island rose 1.1 percent in the third quarter, after rising 0.7 percent in the second quarter, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal income in the Ocean State totaled $49.7 billion in the third quarter of 2013, seasonally adjusted on an annualized basis, a gain of $546 million from the second quarter total of $49.2 billion. In the third quarter of 2012, Rhode Island reported annualized total personal income of $48.1 billion.

Rhode Island’s 1.1 percent change in third-quarter personal income matched the 1.1 percent gains in Massachusetts and Maine, a three-way tie for highest personal income growth in New England. Connecticut posted a 0.8 percent gain in personal income, followed by New Hampshire with 0.7 percent and Vermont with 0.6 percent.

In the Massachusetts, third-quarter personal income totaled $382.8 billion on an annualized basis, an increase of $4.2 billion from $378.6 billion in the second quarter. Third-quarter personal income in 2012 totaled an annualized $369.7 billion in the Bay State.

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Personal income growth in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine matched the U.S. national average, also 1.1 percent for the third quarter. Personal income in the 50 states and the District of Columbia totaled $14.2 trillion, up $148 billion from $14 trillion in the second quarter.

The BEA defines personal income as the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income and personal current transfer receipts.

In Rhode Island, third-quarter seasonally adjusted earnings dropped for two industries – farming (5.04 percentage points), health care and social assistance (0.13 percentage points) – and the federal government (5.04 percentage points).

The Ocean State’s forestry and fishing industry was most improved in the third quarter, increasing 6.96 percentage points.

Massachusetts saw third-quarter earnings drops in farming (1.35 percentage points); wholesale trade (0.58 percentage points); professional, scientific and technical services (0.56 percentage points); and federal and military government (0.86 percentage points and 0.75 percentage points, respectively), while the state’s forestry and fishing industry gained 7.06 percentage points.

Nationwide, third-quarter earnings dropped only in the federal government (2.64 percentage points). The largest gain nationally was also in the forestry and fishing industry, which gained 7.02 percentage points in the third quarter.

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