Mississippi posted a 0.2 percent drop in personal income during the third quarter of 2009.

That’s according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income includes all forms of income, including employment pay, dividends and interest payments, rent payments and Social Security payments.

Between the second and third quarters of 2009, Mississippi’s personal income performance put it 48th in the nation — ahead of only South Dakota and Louisiana.

Nationally, state personal income averaged a growth of 0.3 percent during the third quarter.