Commerce forecast a rise in personal income.

Personal income is expected to increase 2.6% annually over the next 15 years, with the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions leading the way, the Commerce Department predicted. The smallest increases are expected in the Midwest and Great Lakes areas, according to a study just completed by the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and published in the May issue of the Survey of Current Business. Incomes are expected to grow by 3.4% a year in Rocky Mountain states, 3.1% in the Southwest, 2.9% in both the Far West and Southeast, 2.7% in New England, 2.4% in the Plains and 2.1% in both the Midwest and Great Lakes.