Oregon Economy Grows in Latter Half of 2016
New BEA data shows Oregon growing slightly faster than the national average into Q3 of 2016
The Data
The U.S. Bureau of Economics (BEA) tracks and reports the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of each state quarterly. Investors and economists are probably more concerned with the percentage that GDP grows- so much so that the growth number is more commonly cited than the big number itself. Oregon GDP was one of the more steady growing figures across the country headed into the latter 2016, growing at a rate of 4.6% Q2 to Q3 as BEA reported recently. 1
This slightly outpaces the United States GDP growth figure of 3.5% for the same period. 2 South Dakota being the most moved to stateAcross the Western states, growth was generally healthy, with California growing at 3.3%. Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, and South Dakota grew at rates well above 4%, with South Dakota growing the most in the nation at 7.1%. Interestingly, South Dakota’s outperformance echoes an observation we made just one month ago, with in the nation (Oregon was 3rd most moved to in the same study).
South Dakota Growth (Q2-Q3 2016)
California Growth (Q2-Q3 2016)
Wyoming Growth (Q2-Q3 2016)
US Growth (Q2-Q3 2016)
By the Numbers
Oregon outperformed National GDP growth by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter of 2016 according to new Bureau of Economic Analysis data, growing at a healthy 4.6% versus the nation’s 3.5% average. This is in-line with broader recent trends of demographic shift to the Western states as we noted last month.
While Western states broadly performed strongly, some of the weakest growth across the nation was also seen in the West: New Mexico’s GDP declined by 0.1%, Wyoming grew by only 0.3%, and Montana at 1.7%. California, while growing at a decent 3.3% rate, lagged the national average by 0.2%. In the Eastern states, only Delaware, Maine, and North Carolina grew at more than 4%, with no Eastern state growing more than 5%.
Oregon GDP
Meet the Author & Portfolio Manager
Victor Schramm is a Certified Fund Specialist (CFS®), with expertise in Mutual Funds & Variable Annuity Separate Accounts. He focuses on long term investing geared toward our annuity clients as a Fee Only Investment Advisor. He lives in Portland, OR.
Victor Schramm, CFS®Analyst & Portfolio Manager
Disclaimer
This information is solely a representation of publicly available facts intended for educational use only. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell any public or private Security, in any city named in the article or elsewhere. Student, car, or any consumer credit data is not to be used as a market timing tool for buying or selling any security.