Personal income here grew at twice national rate, report says

Personal-income growth in Washington was the sixth-fastest in the nation for the three months ended Sept. 30, according to a report released Thursday by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

And, in a sign the state's economy may be on the path to recovery, most of the income growth came from employment earnings rather than government payments.

Total personal income in Washington grew 0.62 percent in the third quarter after a similar second-quarter gain. By comparison, U.S. personal income grew 0.32 percent in the third quarter.

Only Alaska, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, New York and Wisconsin experienced faster personal-income growth in the quarter, according to the bureau analysis.

Wages, salaries, fringe benefits and proprietors' income from businesses combined to account for most of the state's third-quarter growth.

In the second quarter, by contrast, all of the personal-income growth in Washington — as was the case with almost every other state — came from government payments such as unemployment benefits and Social Security.

Despite the gains of the past two quarters, though, total personal income in Washington was still 1.5 percent below the third quarter of 2008 — a slightly smaller drop than the nation as a whole experienced.

Drew DeSilver: 206-464-3145 or ddesilver@seattletimes.com