Though Louisiana tumbled two spots on Area Development’s latest annual ranking of the top 10 states for businesses, released today, the state remained on the list for a fifth consecutive year, at No. 8 in 2015. Louisiana was ranked No. 6 on the list since 2011.
The overall ranking is based on specific business categories, in which Louisiana also had many top 10 finishes this year. Specifically, the state is ranked No. 2 for its incentive programs; No. 2 for its workforce development programs; No. 3 for state government cooperation; and No. 4 for access to capital and project financing, among others.
Area Development specifically cited Louisiana Economic Development’s FastStart workforce training and development program in its coverage of this year’s top 10 states for business.
“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 reports. “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.”
LED says Louisiana now places higher in all national business climate rankings than it ever did prior to 2008, when Gov. Bobby Jindal took office. 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.
