North Dakota, Texas lead in income growth

Fuel Fix:
While no state came anywhere close to North Dakota for average personal income growth last year, Texas was a respectable second-place finisher, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

North Dakota, which is enjoying an energy boom and, consequently, a building boom, led the nation in personal income growth in 2012, according to the bureau. Personal income is the before-tax income received by every resident from all sources, including wages, rents and transfer payments.

Average personal income in North Dakota increased by 12.4 percent in 2012, compared with 2011. That marks the fifth time in the past six years that North Dakota has recorded the nation’s fastest-growing personal income.

Skills shortage: Major workforce shortage pounding energy industry

In Texas, average personal income increased by 4.8 percent in 2012, making it the second-fastest in the U.S.

For Texas, the biggest contributor to earnings growth came from the construction industry, said David Lenze, an economist with the bureau in Washington, D.C. Construction income grew 11.6 percent in Texas during 2012, compared with 5.4 percent nationwide.
... 
The construction boom in Texas is likely to expand with several billion dollar projects planned to take advantage of the natural gas glut.  I think we will continue to see an expansion of oil and gas jobs as new plays are exploited in West Texas and the Eagle Ford play moves to the East.

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