PORTLAND – Maine’s per capita personal income rose 4 percent last year, even as the nation slipped into its first recession in a decade, the state Department of Labor said.

The percentage gain was the 12th highest among the 50 states and well above the national average of 2.7 percent. Per capita personal income is total personal income divided by the population.

The gain brought Maine’s per capita income to $26,385, lowest among the six New England states and 35th nationwide. For the nation as a whole, per capita income rose to $30,271.

Total personal income in Maine increased 4.8 percent to $33.9 billion last year compared to 2001. Total personal income is the sum of income people got from their jobs, dividends, interest, rent and government support.

Maine’s numbers reinforce the belief of economists that the recession was one of the shallowest on record and the state came through the downturn better than other parts of the nation.

With many of the nation’s job losses hitting the technology sector, Maine held up relatively well because it didn’t have a lot of technology jobs to lose, said Charles Colgan, a University of Southern Maine professor and a former state economist.

“It was a tougher year in other places than in Maine,” Colgan said.

One of the technology companies that took a hit was EnvisioNet, a Brunswick-based computer support company, which shed nearly 700 workers and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before being sold to a California company.

Among manufacturers, electronics company Vishay Sprague is closing its Sanford plant and Stinson Seafood shut down its operation in Lubec.

Colgan said Maine might fare about as well in 2002 when it comes to personal income growth, but will probably not shine like it did in 2001 when compared to other states.

That’s because states that were hit hard by the recession will probably get a strong “bounce” as the economy heads into an expansion mode, he said.