Connecticut was the only state to see its economy shrink in 2012, according to a new report.
The state’s economic output, or gross state product, decreased 0.01 percent last year, whereas the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
New England had among the slowest growth rates of any region in the country, with Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont averaging a 1.2 percent increase in economic output.
Leading the nation’s recovery, economies in the Southwest and West grew the most, increasing 4.1 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. North Dakota’s economy outpaced every other state, growing 13.4 percent.
Cutbacks by the finance, insurance and real estate industries and by government entities were the primary factors that contributed to Connecticut’s decline in economic output, while durable-goods manufacturing and the management of companies helped soften the blow.
Durable-good manufacturing is also what drove most of the nation’s growth, according to the report.
In 2011, Connecticut also experienced a .01 percent decrease in economic output but was far from the only state to see its economy shrink.  The economies of Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Wyoming all posted bigger drops in 2011.
