Apparently, there’s no feeling blue about the U.S. blue economy.
The segment of the nation’s economy related to its oceans and the Great Lakes flexed its economic muscle in 2019 in sales ($665.7 billion), jobs (2.4 million) and its contributions to the overall U.S. gross domestic product ($397 billion), according to a report released Tuesday by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The report on the marine economy, the first of its kind, stated the blue economy grew almost twice as fast in 2019 as the overall U.S. economy, posting a 4.2% increase in gross domestic product, compared to 2.2% for the overall U.S. GDP. Overall, the marine economy represented 1.9% of the U.S. GDP in 2019.
The report was developed from data compiled by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Both come under the U.S. Department of Commerce.