Birmingham, AL – Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that Alabama's economy shrank last year.
The new figures show Alabama's gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services in the state's economy, declined 2.1 percent in 2009.
Alabama's economy was measured at $154.2 billion in 2009, down from $157.5 billion in 2008.
John Norris, managing director of Birmingham-based Oakworth Capital Bank, says the manufacturing sector accounts for a higher percentage of Alabama's gross state product than most other states, and manufacturing is usually hit harder than other industries in a downturn.
He says the fact that Alabama's economic decline about matched the national average is encouraging.
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