Utah ranked among the top five states in personal income growth through most of the past two years, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Utah tied for fourth place with Kentucky on the strength of 6.3 percent growth in personal income from the first quarter of 1991 - believed to be the low point of the national recession - to the third quarter of 1992, which economists say marked the point where the production of goods and services exceeded the peak reached before the economic downturn.Montana had the highest personal income growth at 7.3 percent, followed by Idaho, 7.2 percent; Tennessee, 6.5 percent; Utah and Kentucky, 6.3 percent; North Carolina, 6.1 percent; Washington, 6 percent; Colorado and Wisconsin, 5.9 percent and New Mexico, 5.6 percent.

The national average for income growth during the period was 4.4 percent.

Jeff Thredgold, chief economist for KeyCorp, parent company of Key Bank of Utah, said he was not surprised by Utah's strong showing.

"We have tended to be ranked first or in the top handful in personal income growth for the past two or three years and second only to Idaho in job creation," said Thredgold in an interview Tues-day.

He said that despite the loss of defense jobs, most recently at Hill Air Force Base, and some decrease in mining employment, Utah's base of high-tech and tourism jobs has remained very strong. In addition, the state's real estate market has not been plagued by the "excesses" of other states, particularly California.

"This combination has kept us in the top two states for job creation for the past three years and that's expected to continue," he said. "Most of the forecasts I see suggest that Utah, Idaho and Nevada will rank as the top three states for job creation in 1993."

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Utah's personal income growth has been spurred by high-tech jobs, said Thredgold. He pointed out that while the state's average overall wage is $20,750, Utah's average high-tech wage is $35,000. "We are currently creating very high-paying jobs in very dynamic industries."

Does this mean Utah is at the top of its growth cycle, facing a downhill slide? No way, said Thredgold. "One of the benefits of the Utah economy is we now have very extensive diversification."

Nationally, states with the poorest showing in personal income growth were those hit by last year's hurricanes, by sharp defense spending cutbacks and by severe real estate problems. In Hawaii, income fell at an annual rate of 1.2 percent. Florida had a 2 percent growth rate.

East Coast states have all been hurt by sluggish construction industries, and California has borne the brunt of defense cutbacks.

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