This update gives reason for optimism about the direction and pace of the economic recovery. Particularly encouraging are relatively strong personal income gains in highly populated states and a continuing reduction in both the number of states losing jobs and the magnitude of their losses. While federal policies undoubtedly played a role in the improved personal income numbers (through the ACA Medicaid expansion and Social Security cost-of-living increase), an increase in job creation signals that the personal income numbers should continue to climb in the coming months.
