A recent report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis says that South Dakota’s economy went into the red last year despite South Dakota continuing to succeed according to other economic indicators.
The BEA says that South Dakota had the worst GDP growth over the course of the fourth quarter in 2022, and low personal income growth as well.
The report specifically says that the blame for the negative report falls in large part on industry decreases in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries, which negatively impacted other states with large dependencies on those industries.
That data is based on reporting from the USDA.
”Agricultural income, farm income is down in the fourth quarter from the third quarter. That’s about nine percent of South Dakota’s economy. I just don’t see that (decrease),” said Ernie Goss, a Creighton University Professor.
Goss questions the decrease. He bases his analysis on the price of agricultural exports and commodity prices remaining strong.
Critics have used the report to refute an often-used refrain by Governor Kristi Noem that South Dakota has “the strongest economy in the nation.”
The governor bases her claim in large part on inbound migration and unemployment rates. South Dakota is tied for the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
”There is no doubt in my mind that when you stack up the fifty states and the District of Columbia, South Dakota is not a slow-growth state amongst those 51 places, not even close,” said Goss.
Additionally, data from the BEA over the course of the last three years suggests that since before COVID, South Dakota’s GDP and personal income levels have seen steady increases.
Since 2019, South Dakota has seen a net increase year-over-year in GDP, with more of a lull in 2022.
Uncertainty in both the global and national economy also hurt the baking industry, another large piece of South Dakota’s economy.
Source: dakotanewsnow.com
Photo Credit: istock-primeimages
Categories: South Dakota, Business