GDP increased overall in the second quarter in all 50 states, D.C.

The real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of this year, according to a recent report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The increase in second-quarter GDP estimates is based on the economy continuing to recover, businesses continuing to open, and the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the BEA admitted that the true economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be easily quantified in the GDP by state estimates.

“In the second quarter, government assistance payments in the form of loans to businesses and grants to state and local governments increased, while social benefits to households, such as the direct economic impact payments, declined,” the government organization said. “The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the GDP by state estimates because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified.”

According to the BEA, accommodation and food services, information, and professional, scientific, and technical services were critical industries that led to the increase in GDP. 

Other notable sectors included a 25.2% increase nationally in the information industry, which was the leading contributor in Washington, California and New York. 

In addition, professional, scientific and technical services rose by 15.3% with every state increase being countered by retail trade, which decreased 14.7% nationally.