Anchorage Daily News

STATEWIDE -- Personal income in Alaska fell 3.2 percent during the first quarter of this year compared with the last three months last year. That was the biggest decline among all 50 states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal income includes wages, dividends and interest, and rental income, and it's considered a measure of an area's economic health.

Alaska's personal income totaled $29.4 billion during the January-March quarter, compared with $30.3 billion during the October-December quarter, after both numbers were adjusted to eliminate seasonal factors, the BEA said.

The biggest reason for the change was the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, which is paid toward the end of the year.

The state juiced last year's record dividend of $2,069 with an extra $1,200, thanks to high oil prices, to help offset the higher bills Alaskans were paying for heating fuel and gasoline. In all, Alaskans received about $2 billion from these payments toward the end of last year.

The lack of any payments like this from government accounted for most of the decline in Alaska's first quarter personal income. Wage income actually grew by $200 million during the first quarter, the bureau reported. However, the Permanent Fund dividend factor occurs every year, and, until this year, Alaska's first quarter personal income had been growing.

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