INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana’s gross domestic product rose significantly in the third quarter as consumers and businesses adapted to the coronavirus pandemic, but the state’s economy has yet to regain the ground it lost to virus-related business disruptions, a federal reports shows.
Wednesday’s report from the U.S. Commerce Department shows that Indiana’s real gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 43.3% from July through September. That’s up from negative 33% in the second quarter.
The increase was driven in part by durable goods manufacturing, up nearly 10%, and nondurable goods manufacturing, up nearly 5%, according to the report from the agency’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Indiana’s real GPD rose to $379 billion in the third quarter, up from $344 billion in the second quarter, the report shows.
But a closer look at the data reveals that Indiana has yet to regain all of the economic ground it lost to the pandemic’s business disruptions, The Indianapolis Star reported.
“The numbers are good for the third quarter, but they don’t get it back to where we were this time last year,” said Michael Hicks, director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research.
He said Indiana remains in the throes of a major depression, and in terms of declining GDP, 2020 is one of the very worst years in state history. Hicks said the pandemic has resulted in a splintered economic recovery where higher-earning workers are faring better than workers at the middle and lower ends of the labor market.
He anticipates that Indiana could likely experience another decline in GDP in the fourth quarter due to the weakening economy, permanent job losses and under-employed workers.
The Commerce Department’s report shows that GDP rose in all 50 states in the third quarter. Indiana ranked fifth in growth in the third quarter while Nevada took the top spot with an increased annualized rate of 52.2%.
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