Mainers' personal income fell in the 2nd quarter of this year by 27.7%, but it wasn't alone in that regard and the figures were skewed by stimulus payments received during the previous quarter.
Personal income declined in every state and the District of Columbia, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The reason had to do with the timing of the latest federal pandemic stimulus payments. The federal government arrives at its personal income figures by looking at three areas: paychecks; income from interest, dividends and rents; and what it calls "transfer receipts."
Transfer receipts are money the government sends out in the form of Social Security, food aid, unemployment benefits, and the like.
And it includes stimulus payments, like the one Congress approved in March. Those payments helped to supercharge personal income figures for the first quarter of this year. Their absence dragged down the personal income figures for the second quarter.
In Maine, those "transfer receipts" fell by more than 70% in the 2nd quarter. While wages, interest, dividends and rent all increased, overall personal income still fell by 27.7%.
