Thomas L. Gallagher | Apr 28, 2009 12:03PM EDT
Gross Domestic Product grew 1.1 percent in 2008, according to an April 28 advance report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Manufacturing industries led the slowdown to nearly half the 2 percent growth rate of 2007. Downturns in retail trade and finance and insurance industries also contributed heavily to the slowdown in U.S. economic growth, said BEA. Nearly two-thirds of private industries contributed to the deceleration in real GDP growth.
Manufacturing value added—a measure of an industry’s contribution to GDP—fell 2.7 percent in 2008 after rising 2.9 percent in 2007. Durable-goods manufacturing turned down for the first time since 2001, decreasing 1.3 percent. Nondurable-goods manufacturing fell 4.6 percent, after slowing to 0.4 percent in 2007.
Retail trade industries’ value added fell 0.5 percent in 2008, its first decline since 1991.
Finance and insurance industries’ value added dropped 3.0 percent in 2008, its first decline since 1992.
The private services-producing sector grew 1.6 percent. Slower growth in the value added prices for professional and business services and agriculture industries contributed most to the slowdown in the GDP price index for 2008.
But the goods-producing sector declined 3 percent during the year. All major goods-producing industry groups subtracted from GDP growth in 2008. The sector’s share of current-dollar GDP fell to 18.9 percent, its lowest share since 1947—the first year for which these statistics are available.
Information-communications-technology industries’ value added remained strong in 2008, increasing 9 percent. These industries account for 3.8 percent of GDP, but contributed 30 percent to the 1.1 percent growth in real GDP.
Health care and social assistance industries’ value added increased 4.6 percent, its strongest increase since 1989.
Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com .