Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Incomes of Hawaii residents rose in 2011 for the second year in a row but the pace of growth lagged behind the nation as a whole, according to a report released Wednesday.
Personal incomes in Hawaii rose by an average 4.5 percent in 2011 from 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported. That was up from a 3.7 percent increase in 2010 from 2009 and a 0.9 percent decline in 2009 from 2008.
The 2011 increase ranked Hawaii 38th out of the 50 states. Nationally, personal incomes rose an average 5.1 percent in 2011. Growth ranged from an 8.1 percent increase in North Dakota to a 3.4 percent hike in Maine.
Hawaii personal income on a per capita basis rose to $43,053 in 2011 from $41,550 the year before. Hawaii had the 17th highest per capita personal income in 2011, unchanged from 2011, the BEA reported.
The personal income data reported by the agency are not adjusted for inflation. The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism estimates Hawaii personal incomes rose just 0.6 percent last year after inflation is taken into account.
Personal income totaled $59.19 billion in 2011, up $2.5 billion from 2010. Net earnings, which consist of wages and salaries excluding payments for Social Security and other government programs, rose $1.53 billion, or 4.1 percent. Income from dividends, interest and rent rose $637 million, or 6 percent. Transfer receipts, which include government payments, rose $378 million, or 4.2 percent.
The biggest single contributor to the 2011 earnings increase was pay to hospitality industry workers, which rose $241 million from 2010. Military earnings rose $196 million, and pay to health care workers rose $118 million.
73