by Guy Tauer, Oregon Employment Dept., The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released the 2001 to 2018 gross domestic product (GDP) for all counties. GDP is one of the more popular lagging economic indicators that gives us insight into the size of the economy and the contribution to GDP by industry sector. Business owners, county officials, and policymakers at all levels of government can use these statistics to make better-informed decisions about investments, economic development, or economic policies. Gross domestic product represents an estimate of the total dollar value of all goods and services produced in an area during a specific time. The output of the Coos County economy in 2018 was roughly $2.09 billion, up by 2.4 percent from 2017. Curry County’s estimated GDP was $624.7 million, rising by 0.9 percent from 2017 in real or inflation-adjusted dollars. GDP is estimated based on the place of production, such as the county where an office or factory is located, regardless of where the workers live. The majority of this output is market production, meaning those goods and services produced for sale in the market. However, a portion of GDP is non-market production, such as education services provided by local governments or management of our public lands. Gross domestic product is equal to the value of final goods. An example would be if a business produces components for particle measuring devices (final product), then their production is not directly counted in GDP. Instead, GDP measures the value of the particle counter (final product), which theoretically includes the production value of the component parts. The South Coast continued to see gains in gross output in 2018, but at a slightly slower pace in Curry County, dropping from 1.1 percent in 2017 to 0.9 percent in 2018. Coos County’s GDP growth rate increased from 2.0 percent in 2017 to 2.4 percent in 2018. Oregon’s statewide GDP rose by 3.8 percent in 2018. From 2001 to 2018, Coos County had the 32nd fastest GDP growth, while Curry had the 33rd fastest growth among Oregon counties, up by 21.9 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively. Oregon’s overall GDP rose by 58.4 percent during that time. Coos County’s 2018 growth in GDP was buoyed by faster growth in output in the accommodation and food services; professional and business services; and real estate, rental and leasing industries. Industries with negative contribution to 2018 Coos County GDP growth include finance and insurance; transportation and warehousing; and agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Curry County GDP growth was boosted in 2018 by faster output in construction; accommodation and food services; and retail trade. Some industries subtracting from GDP growth in Curry County included finance and insurance; professional, scientific and technical services; and information. You can find out more about this and other data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis at www.bea.gov.
