Personal income grew at slowest rate in Nevada

Nevada's personal income grew at the slowest rate in the nation in 2010.

That's according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday, which reported the nation's personal incomes rose, on average, by 3 percent. That's compared to the 1.7 percent decline in 2009.

New Mexico's personal income grew the most at 4.7 percent.

All three major components of personal income - earnings, property income and personal current transfer receipts - grew in 2010. In 2009, only transfers grew as lower employment reduced earnings and lower interest rates and profits reduced property income.

Earnings in 10 states, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, grew an average of 2.9 percent after declining 1.5 percent in 2009.

Earnings in Alaska, the only state to avoid a decline in 2009, grew 3.2 percent in 2010 up from 2.4 percent in 2009.

Earnings in the other states rose 2.3 percent in 2010, following a 4.5 percent decline in 2009.

Professional services is the only industry (of those which declined) to recover from the earnings downturn, though the increase was just 0.2 percent above pre-recession levels.

Two industries, construction and real estate, continued to decline in 2010.

The 4.8 percent decline in construction brought earnings in that industry to its lowest level since 2001 and the 2.3 percent decline in real estate brought its earnings to the lowest level since 2000.

Real estate earnings grew faster than every other non-farm industry in the fourth quarter, however. Its 7 percent growth was the largest since the first quarter of 1998, but still leaves earnings 20 percent below its peak in the third quarter of 2005.