WASHINGTON – Rhode Island ranked No. 34 across the nation for economic growth during 2012, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Rhode Island saw 1.4 percent growth in gross domestic product in 2012, a 0.6 percentage point increase from the 0.8 percent growth seen in 2011.
The Ocean State’s growth placed it 34th in the nation but second in New England behind Massachusetts, which ranked No. 19 in the nation with a 2.2 percent increase in its GDP in 2012.
Following Massachusetts and Rhode Island were Vermont (No. 40), New Hampshire (No. 44), Maine (No. 45) and Connecticut (No. 50). Connecticut ranked dead last among the states, with a 0.1 percent drop in its gross domestic product in 2012.
Connecticut was the only state in the union to see a drop in its GDP, as the real gross domestic product increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in 2012.
In Rhode Island, the finance and insurance industry was the largest contributor to GDP growth, with an increase of 0.39 percent in 2012. Wholesale trade and durable-goods manufacturing followed with increases of 0.27 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively.
Rhode Island’s utilities industry was hardest hit last year, with real gross domestic product dropping 0.16 percent.
Nationwide, the U.S. gross domestic product grew 2.5 percent in 2012, with durable-goods manufacturing increasing by 0.55 percent during the year.
The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry took the biggest hit in the U.S. in 2012, but even that was mild, falling 0.04 percent.
