Louisiana GDP economic freefall during height of stay-at-home order middle of the pack nationwide

Louisiana’s plummeting economic output in the second quarter of the year came in around the middle of the pack nationally after restrictions were imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Louisiana’s gross domestic product — a measure of all goods and services produced — fell 31.4% from the first quarter to the second quarter, the same percentage as the national average, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data released on Friday. The state’s drop-off followed an 11.9% decrease in the first quarter from the final three months of 2019.

By comparison, Louisiana GDP a year ago was only down 0.3% from the first to second quarter of 2019, according to the seasonally adjusted federal data.

Louisiana GDP, which accounts for 1.1% of total national GDP, dropped to $224.0 billion in the second quarter from $250.9 billion in the first quarter and was down from $255 billion during second-quarter 2019.

Louisiana ranked No. 26 in the nation in percentage decline from the first to second quarter. Neighboring states across the South saw mixed results: Texas GDP dropped by 29%; Oklahoma, 31.1%; Arkansas, 27.9%; Mississippi, 32.9%; Alabama, 29.6%; Georgia, 27.7%; and Florida, 30.1%.

Delaware was the least impacted state at a 20% drop, followed by Utah, 22.4%, and Arizona 25.3%.

The hardest-hit state economies were Hawaii and Nevada, both major travel destinations, which declined by 42.2% from the first to second quarter. Economic losses in accommodation and food services was the leading contributor to the declines in Hawaii and Nevada, according to the federal agency.

In Louisiana, food services and accommodation was down 4.72%; health care and social assistance, 4.36%; transportation and warehousing, 2.79%; wholesale trade, 2.15%; short-lived goods manufacturing, 2.54%; durable goods manufacturing, 1.50%; construction, 1.50%; mining, which includes oil and gas extraction, 1.29%; real estate, 1.13%; professional and technical services, 1.38%; administrative support, 1.18%; arts and entertainment, 1.58%; other services, 1.37%; and the government sector, 1.76%. Agriculture, forestry and fishing; utilities; the information or tech sector; company management; and educational services all dropped by less than 1% from the first to second quarter.

Only finance and insurance added GDP, but less than 1%.