New federal data show personal spending in Louisiana grew slightly during the Great Recession but has lagged behind growth in other states since then.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - New federal data show personal spending in Louisiana grew slightly during the Great Recession but has lagged behind growth in other states since then.
The Commerce Department on Thursday issued consumer spending data broken down by state for the first time. The data, from 1997 through 2012, reveals the nation's uneven recovery.
Louisiana was among only eight states where total personal spending rose from 2008 to 2009, at the height of the recession. That 1.1 percent increase was the nation's third-largest. But the 3.5 percent increase from 2011 to 2012 was below that in 32 states.
Personal spending rose from an average of $28,364 per person in 2007 to $31,995 in 2012, from the nation's eighth-lowest to the 15th lowest.