Oklahoma once again has landed on a list of the top pro-business states.
Although the state's ranking fell from No. 3 a year ago to No. 10, it still remains on the list -- "Top
10 Pro-Business States 2005: Keeping Jobs in America."
The rankings, from the second annual study on state and federal economic development policies,
were compiled by Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc., a corporate site locator.
The study examined 26 factors relative to states' efforts to be pro-business.
The top states were selected based on factors that are most important to corporate executives
and can be controlled by a state government, the Pollina firm said. The list reflects state
leadership that understands the importance of producing the best job opportunities and being proactive
in the international battle to keep and attract jobs.
The top three states are South Carolina, Virginia and South Dakota.
The study, which is broken into two stages, looks at several factors, including labor, taxes, what
states spend on infrastructure, education, incentives and economic development agencies.
Oklahoma stands out as a national leader, ranking No. 3 in terms of its unemployment insurance
rates. It also receives a strong No. 12 ranking for corporate income taxes, said Ronald R. Pollina,
the study's author and president of Pollina Corporate Real Estate.
"The state has made some really great strides in recent years," Pollina told the Tulsa World. "One
of the most important things is the fact that it converted to a right-to-work state. That took a lot of
guts on your politicians' side to do that.
"Frankly, today, when we work with manufacturers, one of the first things they tell us is that they
will not go to a state if it's not a right-to-work state."
Many states, particularly those in the Midwest and Northeast, have seen heavy job losses as a
result, he said.
Another factor working in Oklahoma's favor is that it understands international competition, and is
willing to take the necessary steps to be globally competitive, Pollina said.
"And I would also say in the West, Oklahoma is certainly a state that companies should be
looking at."
States that score in the bottom half of the Pollina study often push jobs offshore, Pollina said. The
report notes that since 2000, about 8,500 industrial facilities in the United States have been
closed or significantly vacated as blue-collar jobs move to low wage markets overseas.
Each job loss has a reverse multiplier effect on the local economy of between 1.5 and 1.7 jobs,
Pollina said. The loss of 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs between July 2000 and January 2004
could reach 5.1 million in total lost jobs, he said.
State leaders frequently tout Oklahoma's low business costs, its central location, exceptional
work force and quality of life as reasons for doing business here.
The state's Quality Jobs program, which provides incentives in the form of rebates and tax
credits, also is a plus.
"We have a very competitive cost of doing business, and that includes stable and reasonable
costs for electricity, great availability of water and land," said state Secretary of Commerce and
Tourism Kathryn Taylor.
Oklahoma also provides a positive business environment for companies that need immediate
help with problems related to taxes, environmental or work-force issues, she added.
Taylor said many of the people she meets tell her Oklahoma is the "best-kept secret" in the
nation, but that the state needs to do a better job of marketing itself. |
