What does each region of the US have to offer to the GDP? In this helpful infographic, the major industries are explained and you can see how each region stacks up with the rest of the country.
The industries are broken down broadly into eight categories:
- Finance
- Professional
- Health Care
- Manufacturing
- Agriculture
- Retail
- Mining
- Information technologies
Here are some quick facts about some of the industries mentioned in the infographic:
- Finance: In the infographic, finance seems to be the leading industry across all regions. Surprising perhaps, especially in the interior of the country. But more shocking is that The Economist writes that rapid growth of the finance sector is actually pretty bad for the economy. There are a lot of factors that lead to this, but at its core it means that professionals are lured away from other industries to work in finance, leaving a bit of a void in the economy.
- Professional: The entrepreneurial spirit is strong here in the US and expected only to grow! Be prepared with an *online MBA program from Park Point University that sets you up for a successful future.
- Health Care: Our current health crisis means there is no lack of work in the health care field, but the work is shifting. This 2014 report from Forbes shows that hospital growth is flat, but growing sectors of health care include outpatient care offices and home care.
- Manufacturing: The Huffington Post reports that the US manufacturing sector is poised to grow, despite a lack of skilled workers. As China and other countries slow down in growth, the article states that, “an abundance of natural gas cutting energy costs, an increase in auto sales, and a host of other factors, the US manufacturing industry is now growing [rapidly].” However, this growth doesn’t include huge surges in the green jobs sector, and as the manufacturing surge is based artificially cheap fossil fuels, it is questionable how successful it might be.
- Agriculture: the USDA predicts that the farming sector will actually see losses in 2015, due to declining commodity food costs and despite decreased cost of inputs. But this number doesn’t look at the intricacies of farming in the US: so many of our commodity crops lead to lifestyle diseases and damage the planet. To truly feed the world– and sustain the agricultural backbone of the country– a switch to organic agriculture might just be the farming solution we need.
- Retail: Looks like people feel like shopping: Forbes says that retail sales will be up in 2015.
- Mining: The mining industry is dangerous to the environment, terrible for our health, and is being outpaced by the quick growing renewable energy markets.
How does your state and region measure against the others? Click the image below to find the full infographic.
This post is sponsored by Point Park Online University.
