Slow growth for Maine’s metro areas in 2013

THE Bureau of Economic Analysis released the GDP figures for the nation’s metro areas for 2013 this morning:

Real GDP increased in 292 of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas in 2013, led by widespread growth in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, nondurable-goods manufacturing, and professional and business services . . . real GDP for U.S. metropolitan areas increased 1.7 percent in 2013 after increasing 2.6 percent in 2012.

All three of Maine’s metro areas (Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, and Portland-South Portland-Biddeford) experienced a slow down in growth from 2012 – 2013.  Bangor’s growth fell from 0.8 to 0.1, Lew.-Aub. 1.3 to 0.1, and Port.-So. Port.-Bid. remained the same at 0.7.  2013 is the second year in a row where all three metro areas experienced growth after all three saw their economies contract in 2011 (only the Port.-So. Port.-Bid. area experienced a year of growth from 2009 – 2011). Here are the growth rates for each metro area from 2009 to 2013:

Bangor:  -1.7, -0.9, -1.0, 0.8, 0.1

Lew.-Aub.:   -2.5, -0.6, -0.3, 1.3, 0.1

Port.-So. Port.-Bid.:  -1.7, 2.1, -0.5, 0.7, 0.7

In Bangor, the biggest gains were in educational, services, health care, and social assistance (0.69), non-durable goods (0.35 percentage points), and transportation (0.31), with losses in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing (-0.60), durable goods (-0.37), and trade (-0.24).

The biggest gains in Lewiston-Auburn were in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing (0.66), construction (0.52), and transportation and utilities (0.51), with the biggest declines in nondurable goods (-0.72), professional and business services (-0.39), and durable goods (-0.25).

The Portland metro area saw gains in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing (0.41), trade (0.27), and educational, services, health care, and social assistance (0.22).  The biggest losses came in transportation and utilities (-0.20), nondurable goods (-0.06), and construction (-0.03).

The BEA will update and revise these figures in the future.

John Haskell

About John Haskell

John graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Political Science, and from the University of Maine School of Law. He has worked in both the public and private sectors, and currently, works with a small business services company in the Mid-Coast area.