Report: GDP dropped in 80 percent of metropolitan areas

According to Wednesday’s release, the GDP drops were fueled by declines in the manufacturing, construction and professional sectors. Mining and natural resources, on the other hand, helped spark growth in parts of the country. 

In fact, Casper, Wyo., experienced the most growth of any area in 2009 – 22.4 percent – in large part because of its concentration of those industries, the report found. Pascagoula, Miss.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Shreveport-Bossier City, La.; and Jacksonville, N.C., rounded out the top five when it came to growth.

On the other end of the spectrum, the bottom three metropolitan areas in the ranking came from Indiana – Kokomo, Elkhart-Goshen and Columbus. The report found that the hits taken by the durable-goods manufacturing industry were especially damaging to the Great Lakes region.