Income Growth in Louisiana

Preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that personal income growth slowed in 2008. In Louisiana, personal income growth slowed to 4.2 percent in 2008, a virtual crawl compared to 10.2 percent in 2007. Of course the decline is not limited to Louisiana, as personal income growth nationwide slowed to 3.9 percent in 2008, compared with 6 percent in 2007.

So if you see the glass as half-full, Louisiana is ahead of the average in growth. But if you see it as half-empty, Louisiana’s growth declined by almost 60%, while national growth declined by only 35%. And any analysis of Louisiana’s performance must take into consideration the impact of hurricane recovery, as LSU economist Loren Scott points out.