Louisiana’s real gross domestic product increased 1.7% in the second quarter of 2019, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, performing moderately compared to the rest of the country but still falling short of the national average.
In terms of percentage change in real GDP between the first and second quarters of 2019, Louisiana ranks 29th in the U.S. But the state’s modest second-quarter increase still trails below the national average of 2.0%.
That’s because—while all 50 states and Washington, D.C. saw increases in real GDP over the time period—some performed exceptionally well. Coming in with the largest percentage upticks, leading the fastest-growing states was Texas (4.7%), followed by Wyoming (4.2%), Alaska (4.1%) and New Mexico (4.1%). Meanwhile, the slowest-growing states were Hawaii (0.5%), Maine (0.6%) and New Jersey (0.7%).
Compared to its Southern peers, Louisiana was on par with the regional average of 1.7%. Mississippi saw the largest percentage increase (2.3%), while Kentucky saw the smallest gain (1.0%).
Also outranking Louisiana across the South were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia. The state tied with West Virginia and, besides Kentucky, outperformed Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Driving Louisiana’s output growth was “mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction,” which jumped 1.05% in the second quarter. The state saw its largest production decrease in construction (-0.33%).
Throughout the second quarter, Louisiana raked in $263 billion in real GDP, contributing to 1.2% of the nation’s overall GDP. In a prepared statement, Gov. John Bel Edwards says Louisiana’s quarterly GDP is the highest on record and grew by $2.67 billion between the first and second quarters. Year-over-year, the state’s GDP increase totaled $6.44 billion.
