Michigan’s economy grew 2.3% during 2011, a top-10 performance among the 50 states that was led by the state’s manufacturing resurgence.
Michigan’s economic performance during 2011 ranked as the 6th-best in percentage terms among the 50 states and was by far the best among other Great Lakes states. The next-best expansion in the Great Lakes was posted by Illinois, which saw its economy grow by 1.3% last year.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce, released the rankings and growth rates this morning.
BEA reported that growth of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — increased in all regions of the country, although at a slower pace than during 2010’s expansion.
Durable-goods manufacturing, including the automotive industry, was the largest contributor to the nation’s GDP by state growth in 2011. Manufacturing of durable goods increased 7.9% in 2011, after increasing 17% in 2010. It was the leading contributor to real GDP growth in six of the eight BEA regions and in 26 states.
Durable-goods manufacturing contributed 3.94 percentage points to growth in Oregon and 1.17 percentage points to growth in Michigan, or more than half of Michigan’s overall growth in output.
The nation’s fastest growing state economy was North Dakota’s, which expanded 7.6% in 2011. The weakest performing state was Wyoming, which saw its economic output shrink by 1.2% last year.
By: John Gallagher, The Detroit Free Press
