Personal income slowed quarter to quarter

The pace of personal income growth in Hawaii slowed in the third quarter from the preceding three-month period, in line with a national trend, according to a report released last month.

Personal income growth, which includes salaries and wages, investment income and federal government payments, slowed in Hawaii to 0.5 percent in the third quarter from 1.8 percent in the previous three-month period, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.

Nationally, personal income growth decelerated to 0.5 percent in the third quarter from 0.7 percent in the second quarter.

Personal income paid to Hawaii residents totaled $61.5 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in the July-through-September quarter, up from $61.2 billion in the previous quarter.

The figures are not adjusted for inflation, which erodes the value of personal income. The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism is forecasting that personal income in Hawaii grew by 4.3 percent in 2012 but by only 1.8 percent after inflation is taken into account.

Government transfer receipts, which include Social Security and food stamps, led the way with a 0.9 percent increase in the third quarter. Dividends, interest and rental income grew by 0.5 percent, while salaries and wages rose by 0.4 percent.

The construction industry made the largest contribution to the first-quarter increase in salaries, followed by retail trade, the military and state and local governments.

In a separate report, Honolulu ranked 85th out of 100 metropolitan areas surveyed in terms of economic gains since the end of the recession.

The report by the Brookings Institution ranked the cities based on four economic indicators: employment, unemployment, gross domestic product and housing prices. Honolulu’s highest ranking was 50th for the recovery in employment. It ranked 55th for housing prices, 80th for GDP and 82nd for unemployment.