MONTGOMERY – For the third consecutive year, Alabama is among the top five states in the nation for doing business, according to the fall 2012 edition of Area Development Magazine.
Alabama’s overall business environment, including the cost of doing business, corporate tax environment, incentives programs, and cooperative state government were also cited among the top five by the responding consultants; and its certified sites and competitive utility rates placed in the top five among the states as well.
“As I speak with companies all across the country and all across the world, they tell me they like Alabamabecause we offer so much,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “We have an environment that really makes companies want to locate and expand here. We offer the best workforce you can find, and we have a world-class workforce training program that helps companies succeed. Over the last 21 months, we’ve announced more than 26,000 new jobs from companies that are locating here or expanding here. Job creation remains my number-one priority, and we stand ready to welcome additional business here in Alabama.”
The report also listed Alabama first for competitive labor costs and near the top of the list for workforce development programs.
“Alabama consistently ranks as a great place to do business because we have forged unique partnerships that give the state advantages,” Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said. “Not only are we competing, but in many cases, we are winning major projects with worldwide name recognition. The state is poised to be third-largest automotive producer in the nation and will soon be part of a major aerospace corridor.”
Alabama’s overall labor ranking is a direct result of its innovative Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) program, which provides a comprehensive workforce management system for employers at no cost. Services include recruiting, screening, and training potential employees; developing training materials; and delivering customized training programs.
“Alabama’s competiveness in recruiting is due in great part to the tremendous success that leading companies achieve once they locate here,” said Bill Taylor, president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. “The state and the communities work hard to attract new investment. But everyone works even harder to support the new companies once they locate.”
For example, this summer, Airbus announced it would locate a $600 million, 1,000-job assembly operation inMobile to build the A320 commercial aircraft. This new facility will place Airbus in the middle of the Gulf Coastaerospace cluster.
A link to the full report can be found here: http://www.areadevelopment.
