Birmingham-Hoover economy a top 50 metro in 2013, new data show

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The Birmingham-Hoover metro area economy was one of the 50 largest in the nation in 2013, new data show.

Each metro area’s productivity can be estimated by calculating its gross domestic product, which captures the value of all goods and services produced by that area’s residents. On Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis published new estimates for each metro area’s GDP in 2013.

All the goods and services produced in the Birmingham-Hoover area in 2013 were worth about $60 billion, according to the BEA, making it the 50th-largest metro by output. Birmingham-Hoover ranked just behind Jacksonville, Fla., which generated about $62 billion worth of output in 2013.

The Birmingham-Hoover economy is as productive as Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery combined. Those three metros generated about $58 billion worth of output last year, according to estimates.

Statewide, Alabama’s output in 2013 was worth about $193 billion. That means Birmingham-Hoover is responsible for about 30 percent of the state’s total annual economic production.

The Birmingham-Hoover economy has recovered substantially from the recession. In 2009, output was about 10 percent smaller than in last year.