The Commerce Department says American’s personal incomes rose in March. But much of that extra money went to pay for more costly gasoline.
Personal incomes were up by 0.5% last month while consumer spending increased by 0.6%. Personal incomes in Colorado are higher than most other states. In 2010 Colorado was 14th in the nation with an average worker earning $42,800.00. But like other states steadily climbing gasoline prices are taking an ever larger chuck of a person’s paycheck. $4.00 a gallon gas arrived this week in Vail while the national average is $3.88.
Consumer spending was expected to post solid gains this year helped by stronger employment growth and a 2 percentage-point cut in social security taxes. But higher prices for gas and food have economists scaling back their growth forecasts for the rest of the year.
