Economic Growth: 4th Quarter of 2018 and 2018 Annual Growth
Nebraska’s economic growth kept pace with the national average in 2018’s fourth quarter, but trailed for the year as a whole, according to the latest release of estimated state GDP numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The bureau releases state economic growth data on a staggered schedule that comes later than national estimates.
GDP growth in Nebraska was 2.2 percent for 2018’s fourth quarter. This was the same rate at which the U.S. economy grew for the quarter, and ranked 13th best in the country. Colorado was the only Plains region state that is estimated to have seen more growth during that period of time.
The BEA also released complete estimates for 2018. In those figures, Nebraska’s economy still saw growth, but fell behind the U.S. national average, ranking 36th overall.
Nebraska’s Gross Domestic Product grew by an estimated 1.5 percent in 2018, in the middle of the pack for the Plains region, which registered a 2 percent average growth rate. Nebraska was also below the national average rate of 2.9 percent.