Although job creation in Wisconsin has been anemic, the state’s business climate continues to improve in the eyes of Chief Executive magazine.
Wisconsin ranks as the 17th best state for business, up from 20th in 2012, according to Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best States for Business Ranking. Wisconsin’s ranking by the magazine was 24th in 2011 and 41st in 2010.
The best states for business, according to Chief Executive magazine, are Texas (1), Florida (2) and North Carolina (3). The worst states for business, according to the magazine, are Illinois (48), New York (49) and California (50).
“Since taking office in 2011, my number one goal has been to help the private sector create jobs by establishing a favorable climate for economic growth,” Gov. Scott Walker said. “This three-year increase in ranking continues to show our economy is better off than it was a few years ago, and Wisconsin is on track to becoming one of America’s best states for business.”
The Chief Executive magazine report is available here.
But despite the improvement in the state’s business climate ranking, the state’s economy has made little progress toward Walker’s goal of creating 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his first term.
Wisconsin ranks dead last out of 50 states in short-term job growth, according to a new report for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For more, view the report about Wisconsin here.
A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released in March shows the state is ranked 44th in the nation for creating private-sector jobs. The data, which covers a year-long period that ended in September, shows a recent steady decline. Wisconsin ranked 42nd in the previous quarter, and 37th in the quarter before that.
In addition, Wisconsin lost 8,500 jobs in March, and the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 7.1 percent, according to the latest report by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD).
