State revenues are 1 percent lower than projections, according to a report by the legislature's Fiscal Research Division.
Revenue collections through the end of September, the first quarter of the fiscal year were $45 million lower than a $4.2 billion target, according to the report prepared by Barry Boardman, an economist for the legislature.
It's very early in the fiscal year and the most important indicators of whether the state can make its budget won't come until the spring. But the early decline suggests that the state's recovery from the recession will be a slog.
Revenue is down, generally speaking, because consumers are spending less and workers and corporations are making less money. Those declines mean the state is collecting less tax revenue.
Other states are doing much worse, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. North Carolina's projected loss in tax revenue is currently less than South Carolina, but higher than Virginia and Tennessee, according to the NCSL.
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