State Second In Personal Income Growth Nevada Gets Edge For Nation’S Top Spot

Booming Nevada edged Washington to lead the nation in personal income growth for the third quarter of 1998, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Personal income for those living in Washington totaled $159.4 billion during the third quarter of 1998, an increase of $2.6 billion, or 1.6 percent, from the second quarter.

The second-place finish is a slight drop from Washington’s second quarter performance, when the state tied Tennessee for the lead in personal income growth. Washington has outpaced the national average in three of the last four quarters.

Idaho enjoyed a 1.4 percent increase in personal income growth, tying for third with Florida, California and Wyoming.

Overall personal income in the United States grew at a rate of 1.1 percent. “States trade ranks all the time, but, recently, Washington has been consistently in the top 10,” said Duke Tran, a regional economist with the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal income is more than paychecks. The figures include welfare and Social Security payments, as well as dividends from investments.

Earnings in the manufacturing and services industries are responsible for Washington’s consistent performance during the last three months of 1997 and first nine months of 1998.

“One member of the airline industry in Washington has been the leader of the pack in manufacturing,” said Tran, referring to Boeing. Another Washington heavy hitter, Microsoft, is counted as a service industry by the bureau, Tran said.