The High Plains and Southwest regions are no longer on top when it comes to the nation’s fastest-growing economies. According to The Wall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics blog, the downturn in the oil industry has pushed economic momentum toward the coasts.
Thanks to growth in the service sectors, many coastal regions outpaced the nationwide average of 3.8% GDP growth. This is a big change from a year ago, when energy-rich states like North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas boasted some of the fastest-growth in the U.S. North Dakota and Oklahoma in particular have suffered from the energy downturn. The boom on the coasts is being driven by increased consumer confidence. Increased buying in the housing, health care and utilities categories accounted for almost one-third of the rise in consumer spending nationwide.
