Politicians in this territory have been quibbling for months about the state of the economy, throwing around words such as “robust” and “freefall.” But across the water in the United States Virgin Islands, recently released statistics evoke two words to describe economic performance there: steep decline.
In 2012, the USVI’s gross domestic product shrank 13.2 percent compared to 2011, a year that had seen a 6.6 percent drop in economic activity compared to 2010, according to the US Department of Commerce.
The statisticians blamed the drop on last year’s closure of Hovensa, a St. Croix oil refinery and formerly the territory’s largest employer.
“The decrease in exports of goods, particularly the sharp drop in 2012, reflected the decline of the petroleum refining industry that for many years had played a dominant role in the economy,” the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis stated in a press release.
See the Aug. 22, 2013 edition for full coverage.
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