St. Louis-area economy inches up in 2013

The St. Louis metropolitan area’s $136 billion economy inched up by 0.1 percent in 2013, according to figures released yesterday by the Commerce Department.

That increase is well below last year’s revised rate of 1.8 percent and the national average for metropolitan areas, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Across the country, 292 of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas experienced economic growth last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Collectively, U.S. metropolitan areas realized real gross domestic product growth of 1.7 percent in 2013.

Adjusted for inflation, the St. Louis area’s economy has grown by a slim 0.1 percent since 2008.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.