Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth among Tenth District* states was negative in Q1 2020. All four states were above to slightly above the national rate of -5.0%.
Colorado, once the fastest growing state in the district and fifth fastest in the U.S. (based on 2019 growth), has been hit hardest by the economic drag of the coronavirus. Without a strong recession-resistant sector like agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (see Table 2), Colorado was the slowest growing state by real GDP in the district at -4.1%.
In contrast, driven by the ag and construction sectors, Kansas and Nebraska have weathered the storm with greater success. After slow growth in 2019, Kansas saw a 3.1% drop in real GDP in the 2020 Q1, while Nebraska dropped only 1.3%.
As for the fourth state in the Tenth District, typically as the oil and gas industry goes, so too goes Oklahoma. After an average year for oil in 2019, Oklahoma has plummeted to -4.0% real GDP growth in Q1 2020, the second biggest drop in the district.
