Wisconsin’s real gross domestic product declined at an annualized rate of 0.1% from the first to the second quarter, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The reading marked the third consecutive quarter that the state’s GDP has declined, although the slight decrease was an improvement from the 2.9% decrease in the first quarter.
However, the state was just one of six in the country to see a shrinking economy during the second quarter and ranked 46
th nationally. Only Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi and Vermont saw worse growth.
Overall, the U.S. saw 2.1% growth in the second quarter. Wyoming was the top performing state with an 8.7% increase followed by Kansas, up 7.4%, and Nebraska, up 5.9%.
Among nearby states, Michigan led the way with a 2.2% second quarter GDP increase followed by Indiana, up 1.4%; Illinois, up 1.1%; Iowa, up 1%; and Minnesota, up 0.7%.
Wisconsin’s performance is not a single quarter phenomenon. It is the only state among the nearby states with a real GDP that is lower than it was at the end of 2019. The state’s compound annual growth rate since just before the pandemic has been down 0.3%.
Indiana has seen compound annual growth of 1.8% over the same period, Iowa is up 1.3%, Michigan is up 1.2%, Minnesota is up 0.6%, and Illinois is up 0.4%.
For the second quarter specifically, Wisconsin's economy did see some bright spots. Durable goods manufacturing contributed 0.35 percentage points to growth and nondurable goods add 0.54 points. Construction contributed 0.33 points. All three sectors matched or outpaced the national contribution for their industry.
Utilities contributed 0.65 points to growth in Wisconsin, slightly below the sector’s national contribution of 0.77 points.
Wisconsin’s second quarter figures were hampered by 1.58 percentage point drag on growth from the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector, a 0.29 point decrease from retail trade, a 0.25 point decline from accommodation and food services, and a 0.2 point drag from the information sector.
