Florida personal income grows

Floridians saw a 1.6% increase in personal income in the first three months of 2011 relative to the fourth quarter of 2010, according to new data issued by the Bureau of Economic Analysis this week.

The increase is slightly below the national growth rate of 1.8%, the data show, and ranks 38th among the 50 states.

BEA experts attribute most of the income bump to the federal government's 2% reduction of the personal contribution rate for social security, which took effect at the beginning of this year.

Only nine states saw personal income growth of greater than 2%, led by North Dakota, which saw a 6.9% increase in personal incomes.