Survey: Economic growth in Maine metro areas lagging

PORTLAND – The value of goods and services produced in Maine’s three biggest metropolitan areas is failing to keep pace with the national average, according to a survey by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The gross domestic product grew 9.3 percent in Greater Portland, 10.7 percent in Lewiston-Auburn and 5.7 percent in Bangor over a four-year period, but none kept pace with the national growth rate of more than 11 percent.

The metro-based figures from 2001 to 2005 represent the first time the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has taken a look at the value of goods and services at a local level. Previously, data were available only on a state-by-state basis.

Former state economist Laurie Lachance says the numbers indicate Maine’s metro areas are bouncing back from the 2001 recession.

Maine’s cities weathered that recession better than most parts of the country but haven’t recovered as briskly, she said.

The bureau focused on “statistical metropolitan” areas, which include a central city and surrounding communities that are linked economically. The Portland metro area includes communities in Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties.

The Portland area’s GDP was nearly $20 billion in 2005 while Lewiston-Auburn’s was $2.9 billion and Bangor’s was $4.4 billion, the bureau said.

Population growth is a critical factor in the economic performance of metro areas, said Charles Colgan, an economist and professor at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service.

During the time covered by the figures, Maine cities and New England in general weren’t adding many people, Colgan said.

“Cumberland and York are the fastest-growing [counties] in Maine, but they are slow-growing compared to the rest of the country,” he said.