In what is getting to be a familiar story, Georgia was ranked the top state for doing business again by Area Development magazine. Georgia leaders likely hope Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon who recently announced they are hunting for an east coast headquarters, is a reader of Area Development. Maybe there is a deal for it on some internet website.
Georgia was followed in the top five by some Southern neighbors – South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Louisiana (followed up at sixth by another Southerner, Alabama). There are twelve categories the magazine uses to rank the states. Georgia placed in the top five in all categories besides the “Most Improved Economic Development Policies”, presumably because the state was already doing well in this category (but even with that the state placed eighth in the category). The state was first in Cooperative and Responsive State Government and Leading Workforce Development Programs. It was second in Business Incentive Programs, Shovel-Ready Sites Program, Competitive Labor Environment and Speed of Permitting.
The report notes that Georgia is one of few states to have the highest bond rating (AAA) from all three major municipal bond rating agencies. This high rating allows the Peach State to borrow money for projects at lower rates. This can ultimately save the state many millions over the life of a project.
Georgia’s Quick Start program is the number-one ranked workforce development program. It has trained more than one million employees in 6,500 projects – many of which were large-scale manufacturing. “Quick Start is a highly versatile program, whose industry experts can design and implement cutting-edge training programs for workers in aerospace, biotechnology, pharma, advanced manufacturing, food and beverage, and other industries. Training is conducted in classrooms, mobile labs, or on site using the company’s own equipment and processes.”
The report also specifically cited Georgia economic development efforts. It noted how the state Department of Economic Development collaborates closely with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Economic Developers Association and other state and local agencies.
Georgia Chamber CEO Chris Clark and Metro Atlanta Chamber CEO Hala Moddelmog issued a joint statement recognizing the achievement. “Georgia celebrates a record-breaking $6.33 billion in economic development investment and an announcement by Area Development magazine that Georgia was named the #1 place for business for the fourth consecutive year. This recognition is a result of our state’s diligent work to invest in workforce, infrastructure, education and our logistics network. We also have the intangible benefit of strong and visionary leaders who have made the right decisions.”
“Much credit goes to Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly. Their leadership has aided the strong economic performance and the string of impressive job announcements we’ve experienced in recent years. Gov. Deal’s refusal to repeat the mistakes of other states that enacted discriminatory legislation – and our legislative leaders’ focus on creating an environment for quality jobs for all Georgians instead of divisive issues – have helped us maintain this momentum.”
