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Personal income declines in rural Idaho

| August 10, 2010 9:00 PM

COEUR d'ALENE - Buying power here took a hit last year.

After weathering the first year of the recession without suffering a decrease in personal income, rural Idaho saw total personal income drop by 3.9 percent in 2009, according to estimates released Monday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

"I couldn't survive on my own," said Michelle Capron of Hayden, who works in the hospitality industry and lives with her parents. Because it takes many, including her and her boyfriend, the two plan to move in together to help make ends meet.

Personal income - the total of wages, salaries, business profits, investment earnings and transfer payments like unemployment benefits and Social Security - fell by more than $600 million in 2008 to $15.3 billion in 2009. Combined with a $900 million drop in personal income in the 11 urban counties to $33.8 billion - 2.5 percent - statewide personal income dropped by 3 percent for a total of $48.9 billion.

It was the first time since 1953 that Idaho personal income fell from the year before. Nationally, personal income fell in 2009 by 1.7 percent with all but six states posting losses.

In Coeur d'Alene, total earnings in 2009 were $4.36 billion, off 1.5 percent from $4.42 billion in 2008.

The Boise metropolitan area suffered a second straight decline in annual personal income, dropping by 3.3 percent. Idaho Falls was off 1.6 percent, Pocatello 0.7 percent and Lewiston 0.8 percent.

The story was the same for 218 other metro areas, which recorded declining personal income. Another nine posted no change and 134 saw income rise.

Per capita income - total income divided by every man, woman and child - dropped 3.9 percent in the five urban areas to $32,866 and 4.6 percent in the rural areas to $29,220. Combined, statewide per capita income dropped by 4.1 percent to $31,632.

Per capita earnings in Coeur d'Alene were off 3.1 percent to $31,625 in 2009 from $32,279 in 2008.

Some fared better than others.

"I'm a nurse," said Wanda Condon of Coeur d'Alene, who works in Spokane. "We're pretty insulated."

Population growth continued, albeit at a much slower pace in 2009 than during the expansion years, causing per capita income to decline for the second straight year in the Boise metro area and for the first time in the other four metropolitan areas. The average number of nonfarm jobs in Idaho dropped by 45,000 from 2007 to 2009, and 30,000 of those lost jobs were in the metro areas.

"There aren't as many jobs," said Kerry Murphy of Post Falls, who works in shipping and receiving at Best Buy. She said she knows a number of people who work in tourism-related fields who are not doing as well because of fewer visitors. "My job has been secure."