Personal income up in Utah
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Jeff DeMoss
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
U
tahns brought in more income from jobs and other sources in 2006, but the state still ranks near the bottom in income per resident compared with other states.
Preliminary figures released Tuesday by the Commerce Department showed that total personal income in Utah rose 9.1 percent last year to more than $74.2 billion.
Personal income is measured as total income from all sources, including wages, investments, rents, royalties and other sources.
Per capita personal income, the total amount divided by the number of residents, rose 6.5 percent to $29,108 statewide.
Despite an increase of nearly $1,800 per resident and the fourth-highest rate of growth in the nation, the report moved Utah down from 46th among all states in 2005 to 47th for last year.
But that doesn't mean Utahns are poorer than their interstate neighbors, said John Mathews, northern region economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
Utah has a higher proportion of young children who don't earn income, yet the children are still counted in the figures.
That dilutes the per capita number and creates a misperception, Mathews said.
"We're the youngest state in the nation," he said. "When you have population demographics where a huge percent of the population is not even in the labor force to contribute, of course it makes you look low on the list."
Utah's household income is closer to the middle of the pack, he said.
Tuesday's report ranked Utah sixth for population growth in 2006, with a 2.4 percent increase.
Utah's 9.1 percent growth in total personal income last year ranks third among all states, and is a reflection of what has become one of the fastest-growing state economies in the nation in recent years.
The state is currently experiencing its lowest unemployment rate since the early 1950s, prompting employers to raise wages to attract needed workers.
Mathews said average wages in the state were up 5.7 percent in 2006.
"When unemployment rates go down and labor pools dry up, the way to attract workers is to pay them more," he said.
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