State GDP grows, says institute

In the face of widespread economic fears, the Massachusetts economy expanded by 3.2 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, according to the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.

The U.S. economic is expected to have grown by .6 percent in Q1, but the institute says Massachusetts so far is bucking the trend. "Continued expansion in technology, science, knowledge, and health sectors has offset declines in housing and consumer-related sectors such as construction and retail trade," said the authors of the Donahue Institute's monthly report, MassBenchmarks. "Total nonagricultural employment has continued to grow, bucking the national trend of declining employment in the last three months."

The institute, using leading indicators, estimates that the Massachusetts economy will grow by 2.5 percent in the next six months.

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