“Swift swings” takes a quick peek at one economic trend.
The number: California’s economy started 2024 with its slowest business growth in five quarters.
The source: My trusty spreadsheet peeked at state-by-state gross domestic product, a broad measure of business output tallied by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Quick analysis
California’s economy grew at a 1.2% annual rate to start 2024, the lowest since 2022’s fourth quarter. This meek GDP expansion ranked No. 29 among the states and the District of Columbia.
Just so you know, the median state GDP growth was only 1.4% as 11 states saw businesses contract. The largest declines were in South Dakota, off at a 4.2% annual rate, and North Dakota and Kansas, off 3.9%.
The top gainer was Idaho at 5%, then Nevada at 4.4%, and Oklahoma at 4.2%. California’s big economic rivals? Rival Texas was 13th-best, up…
