Louisiana Reaches All-Time High In National Business Climate Ranking

BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Louisiana’s ascent to its highest ranking ever in a national business climate study by Pollina Corporate Real Estate. In an analysis of top pro-business states for 2013, Pollina ranks Louisiana No. 14 – the highest placement for the state in the 10-year history of the ranking.

Since 2008, Louisiana has climbed 26 spots in the Pollina ranking, making it the most improved state in the nation over the past five years. Louisiana’s placement in the Pollina ranking continues a trend, as Louisiana now ranks higher in every national business-climate ranking than it ever did prior to 2008. In three national business climate rankings – Area DevelopmentBusiness Facilities and Site Selection – Louisiana now ranks among the top 10 states in the U.S.

Gov. Jindal said, “When we took office, we made expanding and increasing career opportunities for the people of Louisiana our top priority. By eliminating burdensome businesses taxes, overhauling our governmental ethics laws, reining in government spending, streamlining our workforce development system and enacting landmark education reforms, we have established Louisiana as America’s new frontier for business opportunity. Every day, more and more companies are identifying Louisiana as the best place for business investment and job creation. Still, we will not rest until Louisiana is the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family.”

Pollina ranks the 50 states on 32 factors, including evaluation metrics such as business tax burdens, workforce training programs, workers compensation costs, economic development incentives, energy costs, marketing programs and state economic development efforts. Louisiana climbed from No. 40 in 2008 to No. 27 in 2009, No. 20 in 2010, No. 18 in 2011 and No. 16 in 2012. The latest Louisiana advancement to No. 14 continues the state’s economic momentum across a slate of third-party business climate rankings, including the Pollina report.

In the same report, Pollina noted that Louisiana Economic Development is tied with its counterparts in five other states (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Utah) as the best-performing state economic development agency in the U.S.

“The people of Louisiana should be very proud of Governor Jindal and his administration’s phenomenal accomplishment,” said Dr. Ron Pollina, a geo-economist and the president of Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. “In the 10 years that we have conducted our Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States study, no other state leader has shown the consistent improvement that Governor Jindal has achieved in such a short time. Since taking office in 2008, he has moved Louisiana from a rank of 40th in the nation to No. 14 for 2013.”

Louisiana’s improved ranking from 2008 to 2013 is based on a variety of factors, including the elimination of several harmful business taxes; the creation of LED’s Business Expansion and Retention Group; the creation or enhancement of targeted business incentive programs, such as the Retention and Modernization Tax Program and the enhanced Digital Interactive Media and Software Development Incentive; the launch of LED FastStart®; LED’s enhanced website; economic development marketing campaigns; and improved perceptions of Louisiana among top site selection consultants and corporate executives.

Since January 2008, LED has secured economic development projects that are creating more than 63,000 new jobs, more than $28 billion in new capital investment and hundreds of millions of dollars in new sales for small businesses across the state.

Louisiana earned State or Co-State of the Year designations from Southern Business & Development in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and Business Facilities has honored LED FastStart as the nation’s No. 1 workforce training program for the past three years in a row. Site Selection named LED the best-performing state economic development agency in the nation in 2011.

About Pollina Corporate Real Estate
Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. is a full-service brokerage and consulting firm, representing corporations in real estate matters on a national and international basis. The firm has advised Fortune 500 clients and startup ventures in commercial real estate matters since 1981. For more information, visit http://www.pollina.com.

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