TENNESSEE RANKED IN TOP FIVE BEST BUSINESS LOCATIONS

Gov. Phil Bredesen, D-Tenn., issued the following press release:

The editors of Site Selection magazine, one of the nation's premier economic development publications have ranked Tennessee as the 5th best business location in the U.S. The closely watched annual rankings appear in the November issue and mark the second year in a row Tennessee has ranked among the top five states in the nation for its business climate. North Carolina topped the list, followed by Texas, Ohio and Georgia.

"This announcement reinforces my belief that we are on the right path in terms of job creation and capital investment," said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. "We're not resting on our laurels, however. We've outlined specific strategies aimed at ensuring all Tennesseans have the opportunity to find a higher skilled, better paying job."

The Governor was referring to initiatives outlined in his "Next Steps" speech in Nashville last September. In it, he outlined a four-point plan aimed at developing a more skilled workforce, attracting jobs to rural communities through infrastructure investment, developing high quality research and development jobs through targeted assistance and hosting "orange carpet" tours to better market high unemployment regions of Tennessee.

In addition to the overall business climate rankings, Site Selection also conducted surveys among corporate site selectors and asked questions based on respondents' experiences in managing property assets around the country. In the "executive survey" portion of the rankings, Tennessee ranked 6th. The magazine noted that both Memphis and Nashville ranked among Entrepreneur.com's top ten cities for business and pointed out that Tennessee's gross state product grew 35.3% faster than the national average from 2001-2005. In addition, Forbes magazine recently listed Nashville among the 25 most wired cities in America and California's Milken Institute last year ranked Clarksville, Tenn., among the 20 best performing cities in the nation for economic growth.

"Governor Bredesen's strategic vision for job creation has been to reduce red tape through the creation of the Jobs Cabinet and to build true partnerships between the state and local communities," said Matthew Kisber, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. "We've seen the results of that vision through the creation of more than 103,000 new jobs since 2003 and capital investment of more than $12 billion dollars."

The November issue of Site Selection spotlights efforts made by states to enact legislation designed to enhance competitiveness. The editors specifically pointed to Tennessee's continuing investment in Pre-K education, the expansion of lottery scholarships and the expansion in the number of businesses eligible for the state's Jobs Tax Credit program. Site Selection Editor Mark Arend interviews Governor Bredesen for its monthly Spotlight section saying "his understanding of the business world and government's role therein is readily apparent." To view the complete rankings, go to www.siteselection.com.