Maine posted the biggest quarterly personal income gain in New England, buoyed by increases in wages and salaries.

Maine’s personal income grew from $55.8 billion in the second quarter of the year to $56.5 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, a 1.3 percent gain, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That increase was strong enough to land the state at No. 21 spot nationally for income growth this quarter.

The average gain in personal incomes nationally was also 1.3 percent, the same as in the second quarter. Personal income grew in every state, ranging from 0.6 percent in Alaska to 2.2 percent in Nebraska and South Dakota.

Maine’s income growth was led by a 1.6 percent increase in net earnings from wages and salaries, which bested the national average of 1.4 percent and the New England’s average of 1.3 percent.

Earnings were particularly strong in non-durable good manufacturing and retail trade. Maine wages rose 0.07 percent in non-durable goods manufacturing while the national average was 0.04 percent, and the gain of 0.10 in retail was stronger than the national average of 0.08.

The largest increase compared with national averages, however, was reserved for workers in health care and social services, who saw an income gain of 0.16 percent in the third quarter versus the U.S. average of 0.12 percent.

Income from dividends and interest in Maine was 0.9 percent, lower than the U.S. and New England average of 1.2 percent. Income from transfer receipts — payments from the government such as Social Security, welfare benefits and unemployment payments increased 0.9 percent, the same as the U.S. and New England averages.

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