NEW ORLEANS – Area Development has ranked Louisiana #5 in the magazine’s annual "Top States for Doing Business" report, with the state climbing three spots from its #8 ranking last year.
The 2016 report represents the 6th consecutive year Louisiana has ranked in the nation’s Top 10, and this year’s ranking is the highest ever for the state. Area Development surveys the nation’s top site selection consultants to produce the report’s findings.
In addition to the overall Top States for Doing Business ranking, Area Development ranked states in a number of specific business categories.
According to the magazine, Louisiana ranks:
• #2 in Business Incentive Programs
• #2 in Leading Workforce Development Programs
• #3 in Cooperative and Responsive State Government
• #5 in Favorable Regulatory Environment
• #7 in Speed of Permitting
About Louisiana, the magazine wrote:
• Louisiana also has a long and diverse list of possibilities, including incentives that encourage angel investment, technology commercialization, rehabilitation of existing structures, and even the creation of motion pictures, theatrical productions, and sound recordings.
• Louisiana, meanwhile, gets high marks for its LED FastStart workforce training program, which blends employee recruitment, screening services, and the development and delivery of training programs for new or growing companies — the cost: zero. FastStart’s staffers have experience in a wide range of industries, giving them the ability to support everything from manufacturing operations to corporate headquarters to R&D initiatives to call centers.
The Top 10 Rankings include:
1 – GEORGIA
2 – SOUTH CAROLINA
3 – TEXAS
4 – TENNESSEE
5 – LOUISIANA
6 – ALABAMA
7 – FLORIDA
8 – INDIANA
9 – NORTH CAROLINA
10 – MISSISSIPPI
Read Area Development’s full report here
