Personal income across Louisiana grew by 3.4% during the third quarter this year compared to the second quarter, but below the national average of 3.8%, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
For Louisiana, it’s an improvement from the state’s second-quarter performance, which only saw a 1.1% increase from the first quarter. However, it’s a deceleration from the 4.4% increase seen nationwide in Q2.
In terms of personal income growth—meaning all wages generated by individuals and their investments or Social Security benefits—during the third quarter, Louisiana ranks No. 32 in the U.S. Overall, the percent change in personal income ranged from 15.2% in No. 1 South Dakota to 1.9% in bottom-ranked West Virginia and Wyoming.
Generally, Louisiana’s personal income didn’t grow at the same clip as its Southern peers. For example, Texas grew by 4.2%, Mississippi by 6.3% and Florida by 3.5%, with those states ranking 15th, 6th and 29th across the nation, respectively. Louisiana did edge out Alabama, which ranked 33rd and also saw personal income rise some 3.4%.
Altogether, Louisiana added $1.89 billion in personal income during the period, including $1.46 billion in net earnings. Year-over-year, the state’s personal income grew by nearly 3.8%.
Throughout the state, different industries saw different rates of personal income growth.
Hit the hardest was the arts, entertainment and recreation industry, which saw earnings decline by $149 million, down 0.27% from the previous quarter. Construction was a close second, with statewide earnings dropping by $135 million.
Other industries that took a hit included transportation and warehousing, down $64 million, and finance and insurance, down $43 million.
Meanwhile, farming saw the most earnings gains in the third quarter, growing by $416 million. Major gains were also reported for health care and social assistance, which rose $284 million, as well as state and local government ($200 million), nondurable goods manufacturing ($156 million), administrative support and waste management and remediation services ($152 million), retail trade ($149 million) and professional, scientific and technical services ($143 million).
Besides construction—which nationally saw earnings go up $6.3 billion—Louisiana’s results appear to align with the rest of the nation, which likewise saw farming, state and local government, and health care and social assistance drive overall growth in earnings.
The most recent available numbers show that average per capita income in the Baton Rouge metro area was $48,042 as of 2018, up 4.7% from $46,935 in 2017. Check out the full report.
