Personal Income Report Shows Economic Growth: People Are Getting Richer Again

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report on national income last week. Personal income is defined as wages, property, and government payments such as Social Security and unemployment benefits. Personal income has been consistently growing with a national average of 0.7% in the second quarter and 0.5% in the third quarter.

Texas ranked 7th in the nation with a personal income growth rate of 0.8%. The highest rate of grown in the third quarter was North Dakota with 1.4%. In addition to seeing an overall increase in personal income, the nation has also witnessed a increase of $74.7 billion in disposable personal income. These are all good signs that the nation’s economy is moving in the right direction.

Does this tell us we need to relocate to Texas or North Dakota? Not exactly, unless you happen to be working in the industries that are seeing a boom and have always wanted to move to Texas or North Dakota. All states experience different growth rates. What is most important is continued steady growth across the board. This steady growth in personal income is indicative of a positive trend in the economy overall, as the Commerce Department reports economic growth of 3.1% from July to September. Coupled with increase disposable income, people are saving more and spending more. All good signs.