Wisconsin’s economy shrunk by an annual rate of 32.6 percent between April and June compared to the first three months of 2020, according to new numbers released Friday from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The drop is the highest recorded by the agency since it started tracking quarterly GDP figures for states in 2005. It dwarfs some of the worst losses seen in past quarters, which hover around 8 percent.
Wisconsin’s economy totaled $314 billion in the second quarter of 2020, down from $348 billion in the second quarter of 2019.
The state’s losses put it virtually in line with the contraction seen across the five-state Great Lakes region, which shrunk overall at an annual rate of 32.8 percent. Among the Great Lakes states, Illinois’ economy fared the best in the second quarter, and Michigan saw the biggest losses.
The sectors that slowed down growth the most were durable goods manufacturing, health care and social assistance, and hotels and the food service industry.