87.1% of the Mideast Gross Domestic Product was from the private sector in 2015
The GDP data is sourced from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). For the country as a whole private sector Gross Domestic Product only changed to 87.6% of total GDP in 2015 from 87.3% in 1997, and the goods-producing sector’s share has only fallen to 19% from 22.6% over the same period. The Mideast BEA Region private sector GDP is below the national average at 87.1% and the goods-producing sector only contributed 11.4% to GDP in 2015, down from 15.5% in 1997. The services sector is growing much faster than the goods sector as will be seen below. There are also significant variations across the states, which are also revealed below.
Index calculations of growth prepared using 1997 as the base year
For ease of reference two tables have been prepared to illustrate the growth by 2015 since 1997 in the private sector GDP attributable to the private services providing sector and the goods producing sector. Using 1997 as index 100 the tables give a quick snapshot of the relevant performance of each sector
The Private Goods-Producing Industries 2015 GDP Growth Index by State
The Private Services-Providing Industries 2015 GDP Growth Index by State
The Growth Index for the Mideast BEA region is 150 for goods and 213 for services, meaning the services sector grew by 113% and the goods sector by only 50%. The District of Columbia tops the Growth indices, though it should be noted that it’s goods producing sector is miniscule. New Jersey on the otherhand has the lowest growth in both sectors in the region, but the contrast in growth is significant. New Jersey’s goods-producing sector only grew by 22% in 18 years (before inflation) while its service sector grew by 99% in the same period.
These tables are used for references in the individual state posts below.
90.3% of Delaware’s Gross Domestic Product in 2015 was from the private sector
The proportion of Delaware’s Gross Domestic Product attributable to goods-producing industries was 10.6% in 2015 which was below average for the Mideast region, but by declining 37% since 1997, it fell much faster than in the rest of the region.
The reason is the service sector grew at a much faster rate compared to the goods-producing sector as the indices confirm, but they also confirm that the goods-producing sector has not performed well over this eighteen month period.
The service sector index was 218 compared to 138 in the goods sector, the latter being below the 150 average for the Mideast which in turn was below the 176 for the USA. Only nine other states had slower growth in their goods producing sectors.
Delaware’s private sector GDP was worth $62bn in 2015 in an economy worth $68bn in total. The economy grew by 104.5% since 1997.
65.9% of District of Columbia’s Gross Domestic Product was from the private sector in 2015
The government sector contributed 34.1% to the Gross Domestic Product of the District of Columbia in 2015, which is not surprising given the nature of its business. What is surprising is that the government share of the DC economy has fallen from 39.8% since 1997, and this is due to the fact that the service sector has been growing so fast as the growth index confirms. It was 245 compared to 150 for the entire Mideast region. Put another way, the service sector is growing almost three times as fast as the government sector.
The District of Columbia Gross Domestic Product in 2015 was $122bn of which $78bn was from the private service sector and $41bn from the government sector. The services-to-government ratio was 1.9 in 2015, whereas back in 1997 the ratio was 1.48.
Looking at the sub-categories within the service sector, the value of “professional and business services” increased from $10bn in 1997 to $30bn, an increase of 200% over the period.
There may be some merit to Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “drain the swamp”. It has certainly got deeper over the period in DC alone, and there are large service sectors in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia also.
A separate post on draining the swamp will follow up on this.
79.1% of Maryland’s Gross Domestic Product was from the private sector in 2015
As might be expected, given its geographic location the Maryland economy is heavily reliant on Government. At 20.9% of Maryland’s GDP, the government’s contribution to GDP remains consistent compared to 1997 of 20.7%, and, with the exception of DC itself, Maryland’s economy is more reliant on government than any other state.
Consequently, the private sector is smaller than in most other states, and goods-producing industries only contributed 10.5% to the 2015 Maryland economy, down from 14.1% in 1997, a decline of 25.5%. Only twelve other states have recorded larger declines.
Maryland’s Growth Index for its service sector of 239 is well ahead of the 166 in the goods sector and second only to the DC service sector growth rate.
Maryland’s private sector GDP was worth $290bn in 2015 in an economy worth $366bn in total. Its government sector was worth $77bn and its service sector $251bn. The services-to-government ratio was 3.3 to 1 in 2015, whereas back in 1997 the ratio was 3.2 to 1. Looking at the sub-categories within the service sector, the value of “professional and business services” increased from $17bn in 1997 to $51bn, an increase of 200% over the period. As mention above Donald Trump’s draining the swamp intentions could apply to Maryland too.
88.8% of New Jersey’s Gross Domestic Product was from the private sector in 2015
New Jersey’s goods-producing industries contribution to its GDP has fallen to 12% from 18.3%, a decline of 34%, which is the 6th largest decline in the country.
As seen in the Growth index tables above, New Jersey’s services and goods sectors are both grew more slowly than in any other state in the Mideast BEA Region. The service sector grew by 99% since 1997 (Index 199) but the goods sector only grew by 38% (Index 138), which is why the latter’s share of total GDP is falling so steeply when compared to other states.
New Jersey’s private sector GDP was $501bn in 2015 in an economy worth $564bn in total, the 6th largest in the country.
88.7% of New York’s Gross Domestic Product in 2015 was from the private sector
New York’s goods-producing industries contribution to its GDP has fallen to 8.5% from 11%, a decline of 22.4%, the 20th largest decline in the country.
The Growth Index for the goods sector of 156 is just above the 150 for the region but is below the national average of 176. In contrast the services sector grew by 108% (Index 208) since 1997 which is just below the 113% growth rate for the region.
New York’s economy is the third largest in the US behind California and Texas and in 2015 its Gross Domestic Product was worth $1.4tn. Private sector GDP was worth $1.28tn in the same year.
89.9% of Pennsylvania’s Gross Domestic Product in 2015 was from the private sector
Pennsylvania’s goods-producing industries contribution to its GDP has fallen to 19.1% from 24.4%, a decline of 21.7%, almost the same rate of loss as that seen in New York, but better than New Jersey.
Its goods industry Growth Index of 157 is below the national average but again very similar to that in New York. In contrast Pennsylvania’s service sector grew by 118% (Index 218) and that is the reason the goods sector ratio is in decline.
Pennsylvania’s economy is the 6th largest in the USA and in 2015 its Gross Domestic Product was worth $708bn, with the private sector contributing $637bn to that.
Gross Domestic Product data is sourced from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and is up to date as of June 20th 2017.
