Personal income falls in Iowa

Personal income growth in the first quarter in Iowa was dead last among all 50 states as a drop in farm earnings offset gains in nonfarm employment sectors.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal income in Iowa fell an estimated 1.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015.

Iowa farm earnings dropped 2.14 percent during the period, compared with a 0.28 percent gain for nonfarm industries. Farm earnings fell 22.4 percent nationally in the first quarter with declines in all but nine states.

Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota were the only states where personal income declined in the first quarter of 2015. Analysts with the BEA attributed most of the decline in farm earnings to decreased livestock output.

Nationally, earnings for all industry sectors rose 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2015, a slowdown from the 1.4 percent increase recorded in the fourth quarter of 2014. The slower pace was entirely in the private sector.

Government earnings growth increased to 0.5 percent from 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Earnings growth accelerated in professional services, transportation, finance, and administrative services.