Missourians' incomes grew more slowly than the national average during the first quarter, but government transfer payments accounted for all of the gap.
Personal income grew by 0.6 percent in Missouri in the first quarter, versus 0.8 percent in the U.S. Missourians' earnings — wages, salaries and business income — actually grew a bit faster than the national average. Transfer receipts, including Social Security and other government programs, grew just one-fourth as fast in Missouri (0.4 percent) as in the nation (1.7 percent).
That may be because of the Missouri Legislature's decision to opt out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Nationally, the Commerce Department says, Medicaid accounted for $22.3 billion of the $41.1 billion increase in first-quarter transfer receipts.
Missouri's personal income growth has now trailed the nation's for five quarters in a row.
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