BATON ROUGE – Based on figures released this morning by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Louisiana’s gross domestic product (GDP) compound annual growth rate from 2016-2018 was 5.1%, – the 11th highest rate among states. This outpaced the U.S. average of 4.7%.
When compared to last year’s total GDP figures, Louisiana GDP has increased by $13.98 billion – from $238.1 billion in 2017, to $252.1 in 2018.
“Louisiana’s GDP has continued its pattern of sustained growth since this time last year, and from the previous quarter,” said LWC Secretary Ava Dejoie. “Our work is never finished, and we will continue to help businesses and individuals achieve prosperity and growth.”
In the fourth quarter of 2018, Louisiana’s GDP grew by $1.85 billion – or 1.3% according to the BEA.
Louisiana’s GDP increased from $252 billion in 2018’s third quarter to $255.5 billion in the fourth quarter, making it the highest figure on record. This marks nine consecutive quarters of GDP growth.
The top five contributing industries to Louisiana’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2018 include:
1. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, which contributed 1.17 percentage points of GDP growth;
2. Real estate and rental and leasing, which contributed 0.43 percentage points of GDP growth;
3. Health care and social assistance, which contributed 0.22 percentage points of GDP growth;
4. Wholesale trade, which contributed 0.22 percentage points of GDP growth; and
5. Information, which contributed 0.20 percentage points of GDP growth.