State GDP fell 2.5% in 2009

How badly did South Carolina take it on the chin during the recession? A newly released measure of economic strength shows gives one indication.

The value of what workers produced in the Palmetto State -- a figure known as gross domestic product -- fell 2.5 percent to $144 billion during 2009, a slightly greater decline than the national average decline of 2.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The Southeast region's gross domestic product fell 2 percent, while some states in the country's heartland that rely on agriculture and mining saw year-over-year improvements. Oklahoma recorded the strongest productivity growth with a 6.6 percent increase.

"This recession was very much centered on housing, manufacturing and financial services, and those three industries are much more important to the South than the nation as a whole," said Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner. "The Plains states really didn't participate that much in the housing boom."

South Carolina recorded industry-specific declines in the manufacturing and construction sectors during 2009. Retail trade, government sector and health care jobs remained somewhat stable, while finance and insurance-related jobs grew.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases state-specific productivity numbers once a year.

South Carolina's neighbors fared worse than the Palmetto State in 2009; Georgia's GDP fell 3.2 percent and North Carolina's declined 3.1 percent.

Vitner said he expects the 2010 results for South Carolina to show an improvement.

"This is probably a snapshot of South Carolina at its worst point," he said, adding that the state "has enjoyed fairly strong growth" during the last year.