BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by $2.3 billion – or 1.9 percent – in the third quarter of 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Louisiana’s GDP increased from $249.7 billion in 2018’s second quarter to $252 billion in the third quarter, making it the 44th fastest growing economy in the U.S., outpacing Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wyoming and Alaska.
Louisiana’s third-quarter GDP increase follows this year’s trend of growth – by 4.7 percent in the first quarter, 4.3 percent in the second quarter, and now 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2018.
“Louisiana enjoyed another quarter of economic growth, with a GDP that is higher than ever recorded. Continued growth is a sign that our economy is getting stronger and headed in the right direction; still we know there is more work to be done,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “We remain concerned about the impacts of tariffs on our economy and hope that our farmers and agribusinesses will see some relief soon.”
When compared to last year’s total GDP figures at the third quarter, Louisiana’s GDP has increased by $15.5 billion – from $236.5 billion in the third quarter of 2017 to $252 billion in the third quarter of 2018.
“It’s important to note that Louisiana’s gross domestic product has continued a pattern of growth this quarter,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Dejoie. “Our state’s growth piggybacks a 4.3 percent second-quarter jump that outpaced the national average. There is always room for improvement, but these numbers are evidence of growth.”
The top five contributing industries to Louisiana’s economic growth in the third quarter of 2018 include:
- Non-durable Goods Manufacturing, which contributed 0.77 percentage points of GDP growth;
- Retail Trade, which contributed 0.36 percentage points of GDP growth;
- Wholesale Trade, which contributed 0.32 percentage points of GDP growth;
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, which contributed 0.27 percentage points of GDP growth; and
- Durable Goods Manufacturing, which contributed 0.15 percentage points of GDP growth.