baltimoresun.com
Local GDP ranking climbs
Baltimore area's economic output at $120 billion in '05
By Jamie Smith Hopkins
Sun reporter
September 27, 2007
Baltimore ranked 19th among metro areas in 2005 on an
important measure of economic activity - up one notch from the year
before.
The numbers, released yesterday by the Commerce Department,
represent the government's first-ever attempt to calculate gross
domestic product for the country's 363 metropolitan areas. GDP is a
tally of the value of goods and services produced.
The government warned that the numbers are "experimental," but it
intends to continue producing them.
"There are many metropolitan areas that haven't seen an estimate of
the size of their economy, and they don't have a clear picture of
how their economy ranks," said Sharon Panek, chief of the section on
GDP by state services at Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
"The number of requests we've received over the years has been
overwhelming."
The Baltimore metro area's GDP was nearly $120 billion in 2005,
outpacing St. Louis, which ranked 19th in previous years, but far
behind the nation's largest metro areas. New York, at about $1
trillion, was first; Los Angeles, second with about $630 billion;
and Chicago, third with about $460 billion. Washington, with just
under $350 billion in GDP, ranked fourth.
The top metro areas by GDP are also the top by population. Baltimore
is 20th among metro areas by number of residents. But the Baltimore
area's economy has grown more slowly than the average for metro
areas in the past several years. GDP increased 2.8 percent here in
2005, compared with 3 percent for the nation's metro areas overall.
The numbers are adjusted for inflation.
Richard P. Clinch, director of economic research at the University
of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute, said Baltimore's growth was
lower than he expected, but he noted its slower-than-average
population growth is a key reason.
"It's largely a function of population growth," he said of GDP.
Some metro areas grew by leaps and bounds. GDP increased by more
than 10 percent in parts of Florida, Washington state and Arizona,
for instance.
But Clinch said Baltimore compared well with some of its Rust Belt
peers, such as Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland - which each grew
by less than 1 percent. The ripple effect from Washington, which had
growth of 5 percent, could help explain why.
"Being in the shadow of Washington isn't necessarily a bad thing,"
Clinch said.
The Commerce Department also released statistics showing how various
industries contribute to metro areas' economic growth. In the
Baltimore area, the education and health services sector and
financial activities were key drivers, with each accounting for
about 12 percent of the increase in 2005. About 9 percent of the
growth came from construction.
But the department withheld data about one of Maryland's key
sectors, professional and business services. It said it did so in
cases where one business is so dominant that the numbers could
reveal confidential information.
|
