Montana personal income growth second in the nation

Total personal income of Montanans was the second fastest-growing in the country during the second quarter of this year, rising 1.9 percent from the previous three months, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Tuesday.

AP

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Even when compared to the April-June period last year, Montana income still increased by 5.1 percent, just under the national average of 5.2 percent, the federal agency said.

Paul Polzin, Montana Bureau of Economic Analysis director, said the figures reflect continued strength of the state’s economy.

"There’s no evidence of the weakening of the Montana economy," he said. "The Montana economy has barreled ahead of the U.S. economy during the recession, although the U.S. is starting to catch up."

The BEA report said total income in Montana increased from $24.3 billion to $24.8 billion between the first two quarters of this year, a 1.9 percent growth. Only Washington, with a 2.4 percent rise, did better.

The national average was 1.5 percent.

But Polzin said Montana’s rate may be partly due to an anomaly in the estimate of farm earnings, which showed a whopping 67 percent increase from one quarter to the next. The national average was just a 2.5 percent increase.

Polzin also noted that manufacturing, typically a source of higher-paying jobs, recorded a 3.2 percent increase in earnings during April, May and June — second only to Washington and Oregon in that industry. Montana led the Rocky Mountain states in growth of manufacturing earnings.

In the third quarter of 2003, the BEA reported total income in Montana rose just 0.8 percent, the second-lowest rate in the country.