Providence-Warwick metro area economy grows 1.7% in 2012

REAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT in the Providence-Warwick metro area grew 1.7 percent last, placing the area 182nd in the country and fourth in New England for economic growth in 2012. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
REAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT in the Providence-Warwick metro area grew 1.7 percent last, placing the area 182nd in the country and fourth in New England for economic growth in 2012. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

PROVIDENCE – The Providence-Warwick metro area ranked No. 182 out of 381 metro areas across the nation for economic growth during 2012, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The Providence-Warwick area, which includes parts of Massachusetts, saw 1.7 percent growth in real gross domestic product in 2012 (based on chained 2005 dollars), a 1.4 percentage point increase from the 0.3 percent growth reported in 2011.

Nationally, U.S. metropolitan area GDP grew 2.5 percent in 2012, with durable-goods manufacturing and trade increasing 0.52 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively. In 2011, national metro area GDP grew 1.7 percent.

The Providence-Warwick metro area GDP growth placed it 182nd in the nation but fourth in New England, behind Springfield, Mass. (No. 138), and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. (No. 140) – both with 2.3 percent growth – and Burlington-South Burlington, Vt. (No. 156), with 2.1 percent growth.

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Real GDP increased in 305 of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas in 2012, but five New England metro areas reported no growth or negative growth in 2012, including New Haven-Milford, Conn. (No. 304), Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. (No. 320), Pittsfield, Mass. (No. 347), and Manchester-Nashua, N.H. (No. 353).

Norwich-New London, Conn. (No. 371), trailed the New England metro areas with a 2.2 percent decrease in gross domestic product in 2012.

Connecticut was the only U.S. state to see a drop in its GDP in 2012, as reported on PBN.com in June.

In the Providence-Warwick metro area, the finance and insurance industry made a large contribution to GDP growth, with its growth contributing 0.9 percentage points to the region’s total of 1.7 percent in 2012. Professional services, and leisure and hospitality followed with contributions of 0.25 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively.

Education and health services posted a negative contribution to the metro area GDP, with a 0.37 percentage point decline last year.

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