U.S. GDP dipped by $2 trillion in the second quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Visual Capitalist mapped out how industries and the states contributed to the drop in gross domestic product amid COVID uncertainty.
Kansas GDP decreased by 30.3%, slightly better than the national average of 31.3% decline.
The stats and graphic display reveal that states that avoiding lockdowns fared better in the second quarter than those with tight restrictions and lockdowns.
“The latest release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis reveals the truth,” said Michael Austin, director for the Sandlian Center for Entrepreneurial Government at the Kansas Policy Institute. (KPI owns the Sentinel.)
“COVID restrictions and lockdown, intended to preserve our health, made Americans, particularly Kansans, poorer.”
States like Hawaii and Nevada, which are heavily reliant on tourism, fared the worst. The year-over-year GDP of both states plummeted by 42.2%. States with the most stringent lockdowns fared almost as bad.
New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Tennessee, and Michigan saw their GDP drop by more than 35%.
GDP dipped in all 50 states over the last year. Utah fared slightly better than most states, netting only a 22.5% GDP decline.
The Virtual Capitalist outlined which sectors of the economy led the decline in each state. In Kansas, GDP slowed most in the manufacturing of durable goods industry.
“While Kansas had the fourth-best growth among Plains states, only no-lockdown states had less decline than Kansas. It’s an open and shut case COVID lockdowns and mandates exacerbated economic strife while having little impact on stemming the tide of the virus itself,” Austin said.
