Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Outdoor Recreation Roundtable's website.
The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) has issued a statement on newly updated statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, that recognize the critical role played by the outdoor recreation industry in the growth of the U.S. economy. For the first time, in addition to national findings, this data also includes information on the outdoor recreation economy at the state level for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. The BEA also found that the outdoor recreation industry is growing rapidly, eclipsing the average increase of the overall U.S. economy.
BEA findings highlighted by the ORR include an annual gross economic output of $778 billion for the outdoor industry, accounting for a 2.2 percent contribution to the country’s GDP. In addition, the industry contributed more than 5.2 million jobs across the United States. The recreational vehicle industry was found to have a $50 billion economic impact, while the camping industry contributed more than 1.4 million jobs. State-by-state, Indiana ($4.7 billion), Wisconsin ($2.0 billion), Louisiana ($1.6 billion), and Kansas ($684.2 million) led in the manufacturing sector.