Site Selection magazine ranked Louisiana No. 10 in its 2018 analysis of the top states for business investment and job creation, according to an announcement from Louisiana Economic Development, tying with Kentucky for the spot.
Though it’s Louisiana’s ninth consecutive top 10 spot in the business climate rankings, the state’s spot on the Site Selection list has steadily fallen over the past five years. The state peaked at No. 2 in 2014, before dropping to 4th in 2015, 7th in 2016 and to No. 10 last year.
In 2014, the state trailed behind only Georgia, which has consistently held the No. 1 spot for the past six years.
LED did not respond to requests for comment on the steady decline, but, in a prepared statement, LED Secretary Don Pierson said successful public-private partnerships were a key contributor to the state’s top 10 placement.
The magazine ranks states based on both survey and performance measurements. Half of Louisiana’s score comes from a survey of corporate site selectors who rank the states based on their recent experiences locating facilities in them.
The other half comes from an index that includes total new year-to-date projects, both overall and per capita, state tax burdens on new and established companies and performance in Site Selection’s annual Prosperity Cup ranking.
Since January 2016, Louisiana has attracted over 100 major economic development projects representing more than $26 billion in new capital investment for the state, retaining over 16,000 existing jobs and expanding employers in the state. In that time, Louisiana also gained more than 25,000 new direct and indirect jobs.
Some of those economic development projects include the 2,000-job New Orleans Digital Transformation Center by DXC Technology; Formosa’s $9.4 billion chemical complex planned for St. James Parish that will create 1,200 new direct jobs; and the $1.49 billion Shintech ethylene expansion in Plaquemine that will add 700 direct and indirect jobs.
