Employment is high. The stock market, despite its recent nosedive, remains up significantly over the past few years. Other U.S. economic indicators are favorable.
Yet throughout Mississippi, there are not signs of a boom. There is little new construction outside of three suburban areas — Lamar County near Hattiesburg, Madison and Rankin counties near Jackson and Desoto County near Memphis — and state tax collections, which reflect how much the economy is growing because they are based in large part on sales at stores, are flat.
What’s the discrepancy between the seemingly strong national picture and Mississippi’s weak outlook? The answer is there is no growth. That’s borne out in a chart of real total domestic product as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That measures everything produced in Mississippi and adjusts for inflation.
From 1998 to 2008 the state economy grew from $80 billion to $97 billion. From 2008 to 2016, it shrunk to $95 billion. Simply put, the Great Recession is still lingering here. Until it’s gone, things are going to remain tight for Mississippi businesses.
— Charlie Smith
