Louisiana’s grade for small business friendliness slips to B+

The latest survey of small business owners by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation shows Louisiana’s overall grade for small business friendliness slipped to a B+ from an A in last year’s survey. Nonetheless, the Bayou State is still said to be “among the most business friendly states, particularly in terms of its training programs and labor regulations.” The survey, which was conducted with about 7,000 small business owners, gives Louisiana its worst grade, a C, for zoning. The state’s best mark, an A, was received for its training and network programs, while it also received a B+ for its tax code, and environmental regulation friendliness. B grades were given to Louisiana in four of the 10 categories that contributed to the overall grade: ease of starting a business, regulations, licensing, and health and safety. The state received a B- for ease of hiring. The complete survey results can be found here. While Baton Rouge is not among the U.S. cities graded in the survey, New Orleans received a C- for its overall small business friendliness. Meanwhile, an article in Governing magazine today says the survey results show “smaller companies care about much more than just taxes,” though it doesn’t specifically touch on the tax overhaul proposal from Gov. Bobby Jindal that the Louisiana legislature is currently debating. You can find that story here.