Passing almost unnoticed last week was a dollop of good economic news, sort of, for wage earners living in the state of Michigan.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the per capita income in Michigan rose about 4 percent, a bit above the national average of 3.9 percent but well behind other states in the union.

Alaska and Oregon each had 5.7 percent growth in income, tops in the country. At the very bottom was Nebraska with .5 percent.

Looking at it from a dollars and sense prospective within the Great Lakes Basin, the average per capita income in Michigan in 2014 was $40,556, second worst only to Indiana, where the average wage was $39,453. Tops in the region was Illinois with $48,120. Wisconsin had $44,585 and Ohio with $42,571.

Speaking nationally, the highest was in Connecticut at $62,487. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Mississippi at $34,333.

All of the above can and will be debated. On the one hand, we’re pleased that peoples’ wages are going in the right direction. But clearly, much more work is needed from Gov. Rick Snyder and the State Legislature.