For the first time on record, all 50 states were contracting at the same time, according to the state coincident indicators for February released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Tuesday. The state-by-state indicators have been tracked by economists at the bank since 1979.
The indicators are designed to closely track gross state product in each state. The GSP data are available only with a long delay, with the most recent data covering 2007.
At least one state had been growing in every month for the past 30 years, until February. In January, the index showed Louisiana was growing and the other 49 states not.
A year ago, the index showed growth in 21 states. The last time all 50 states were growing was December 2006.
Prior to this recession, the most widely dispersed downturn on record was the 1982 recession in which 43 states were simultaneously contracting.
The index is one of the few economic indicators available on a state-by-state basis without a long lag. It's based on four timely employment indicators: nonfarm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate, and real wages and salaries (that is, adjusted for inflation). 
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