When adjusted for inflation, personal income in Louisiana has risen 1.3% per year since the onset of the Great Recession at the end of 2007, but has grown at a slower pace than the national rate of 1.7%, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data.
And between the third quarter of 2015 and 2016, personal income in Louisiana continued to grow at a slower pace than the nation overall, rising only 0.3% compared to 2.2% for the greater U.S.
The difference, Pew says, reflects a trend that’s occurring across states, as the recovery from the recession has varied even as the nation’s economic expansion—which Pew calls one of the longest in the U.S.—has lifted personal income in all states.
“Growth has varied, from a constant annual rate of less than 1 percent in Illinois and Nevada to almost 5 percent in North Dakota since the start of the Great Recession,” the report reads. “In six states, personal income fell for the year ending in the third quarter of 2016, hit by factors such as weak energy and agricultural earnings.”
Personal income includes residents’ paychecks, employers’ contributions to their health and retirement plans, Social Security benefits, rental and property income, and public assistance benefits, among other things.
Pews says national growth in personal income has been slower post-recession than it was in decades past, rising only 1.7% each year since the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to 2.8% annual growth in the 30 years prior to the Great Recession.
“As the economy expands or shrinks, state personal income also changes,” Pew says. “These trends matter not only for individuals and families but also for state governments, because tax revenue and spending demands may rise or fall along with residents’ incomes.”
In 2015, unadjusted personal income in Louisiana was $200,594,433.
