Area Development: Louisiana Ranks As Top 10 State For Business For Fifth Consecutive Year

BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, Louisiana earned its fifth consecutive Top 10 ranking in Area Development magazine’s annual Top States for Doing Business report, placing No. 8 overall. The 2015 Top States for Doing Business report from Area Development magazine surveyed the nation’s top site selection consultants to produce the report’s findings.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said, “Today’s recognition by Area Development magazine reinforces what business and industry leaders have long known. Over the past seven years, we have cultivated a competitive business climate that makes it possible for us to attract world-class capital investment and job creation projects. Our success since 2008 has paid off in quality jobs for Louisiana residents like never before, and more of our citizens are able to build rewarding careers without having to leave our great state.”

In addition to the overall Top States for Doing Business ranking, Area Development ranked states in several specific business categories. For example, Louisiana ranks No. 2 in Incentive Programs; No. 2 in Leading Workforce Development Programs; No. 3 in Cooperative State Government; No. 3 in Speed of Permitting; No. 4 for Access to Capital and Project Funding; No. 4 for Most Favorable Regulatory Environment; and No. 4 in overall Business Environment. Louisiana also was rated No. 6 for Cost of Doing Business; No. 6 for Water Availability and Cost; No. 7 for Competitive Utility Rates; No. 7 for Competitive Labor Costs; No. 8 for Rail Accessibility; No. 9 for Certified Sites/Shovel-Ready Program; and No. 9 for Corporate Tax Environment.

Area Development editors lauded LED FastStart^® – Louisiana’s customized workforce development program – as a key element in the state’s successful business environment.

“Louisiana’s FastStart program was established in 2008 and relies on experienced industry professionals to interface with companies to create highly customized employee recruitment, screening, and training solutions for clients,” the magazine said. “FastStart constructed a new 65,000-square-foot, advanced training center to support Benteler Steel/Tube’s $975 million manufacturing project in Shreveport. To meet projections of fast job growth in Louisiana over the next five years, FastStart is developing more advanced job-matching and recruitment tools.”

Louisiana now places higher in all national business climate rankings than it ever did prior to 2008. In five national business climate rankings – those published by Area Development, Business Facilities, Chief Executive, Site Selection and international location marketing firm DCI – Louisiana now ranks among the Top 10 states in the U.S. Site Selection named LED the best-performing state economic development agency in the nation in 2011 and No. 2 in the nation in 2015, and Pollina Corporate Real Estate ranked LED tied for the best-performing state economic development agency in the nation in 2013.

Since 2008, LED has secured economic development projects that are creating more than 91,000 new jobs and more than $62 billion in new capital investment, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in new sales for small businesses throughout the state.

About Area Development
Founded in 1965, Area Development magazine is considered a leading executive magazine covering corporate site selection and relocation. Editorial coverage provides valuable information pertinent to the factors, key issues and criteria that affect a successful decision. Area Development is published quarterly and has 60,000 mailed copies. It also has a very active custom publishing group that has produced many award-winning magazines, inserts and brochures on behalf of its clients. Area Development maintains several highly visited websites: www.FacilityLocations.com, www.FastGIS.biz, and www.FastFacility.com. For more on the Top States for Doing Business rankings, visit www.areadevelopment.com.