One glance at the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ regional GDP map is enough to see that St. Louis is not doing well. We’re shaded in gold, which means we’re in the worst-performing 20% of the nation’s 363 metropolitan areas.

Go to the detailed news release and things look even worse. The metro St. Louis economy actually shrank by 0.8 percent in 2006, according to updated figures that the BEA posted today. Gross domestic product is a measure of all the goods and services produced within an area; when adjusted for inflation, it’s the most complete gauge of the area’s economic health.

We had company, by the way: 55 of the 363 metro areas posted negative real GDP growth. The worst was Detroit at minus 2.3 percent.

The figures are reported with a lag — obviously, since we’re just now getting results for 2006 — and don’t tell us about the current state of the region’s economy. But, judging from recent employment figures, things certainly aren’t getting better in metro St. Louis.