Michigan's long recession is officially over. According to government data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Michigan's economy grew 2.9 percent last year, outpacing the national average of 2.6 percent. The gain follows declines of 5 percent in 2009 and 4.3 percent in 2008. Last year, Michigan's economy was the 15th fastest-growing in the country and the second-fastest in the Midwest, behind Indiana, which grew by 4.6 percent.
The state can thank a rebounding auto industry for much of its growth. Durable–goods manufacturing led the recovery in U.S. in 2010; adding more than 1 percentage point to growth in Michigan.
"The fact that Michigan has so much auto-related manufacturing is what really started the turnaround out of the recession," PNC Bank economist Kurt Rankin told the Detroit News. "The Michigan economy was one of the first to begin its rebound. That's not so say it's anywhere near to what it was prior to the recession, but it's one of the first to find a bottom and emerge."
University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes told the Detroit Free Press that Michigan's rebound is typical after a severe economic downturn. "We're back to the future," he said. "It's a very good beginning to the recovery."
Expect that recovery to be slow, however, added Grimes, who predicts Michigan's economic growth to range from 1.9 percent to 3 percent this year.
Although technically Michigan's economy is growing, with unemployment hovering around 10 percent, for many it still feels like a recession, said Charles Ballard, an economics professor at Michigan State University.
Nationally, economists are predicting sluggish economic growth for the rest of the year.
