Tennessee Among U.S. Leaders in Economic Competitiveness
Site Selection Ranks State No. 2 For Jobs And Investment
NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s business climate as well as the number of new job creation and business expansion projects has prompted Site Selection magazine to give the state a second place ranking on its list of the most job-competitive states in the nation.
In the publication’s May edition, Tennessee climbed back up the list, jumping from No. 7 in 2005 to No. 2 this year among the magazine’s annual ranking of “Top Ten Competitive States.” The magazine’s editors included job creation and capital investment in their calculations, but also looked at how many local metropolitan areas and small towns from a given state made the annual rankings of Site Selection’s top 100 communities.
“We’ve worked hard to develop the partnership between state and local communities to make Tennessee a more competitive place to locate and grow a business,” said Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber. “Objective observers are acknowledging we’re headed in the right direction in our job creation and retention efforts. It’s nice to receive these types of accolades, but we’re not going to rest on our laurels.”
Tennessee’s efforts were rated just behind those of North Carolina and ahead of Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, Virginia and Illinois.
‘Tennessee’s second place finish in our Competitiveness Award ranking means that significant investment is taking place, and has been taking place in markets large and small around the state,’ says Mark Arend, editor of Site Selection magazine. ‘Even making the top 10 is a significant accomplishment, but placing second means Tennessee’s economic development strategy is a winning one.’
Earlier this year, Tennessee placed No. 4 on Site Selection magazine’s “Top 10 States” for business climate with the most micropolitan areas and the No. 8 spot on the list by number of projects. In the last year, Tennessee has also been recognized in similar rankings by Expansion Management, Business Facilities, and the Milken Institute.
The criteria used to determine the Site Selection rankings, included total new and expanded facilities per 1 million population in 2005; total capital investment in new and expanded facilities per 1 million population in 2005; total new jobs created at new and expanded facilities per 1 million population in 2005; total actual number of new and expanded facilities in 2005; percentage growth in new and expanded facilities from 2004 to 2005; three-year growth change (from 2002 to 2005) in new and expanded facilities; ranking in Site Selection’s annual business climate survey; number of top 100 metros in the annual ranking of top metros; number of top 100 small towns in the annual ranking of small towns; and number of 100- plus- job projects per one million population in 2005.
For more information on Site Selection’s “Top Ten Competitive States” ranking, visit the magazine online at www.siteselection.com.
