Georgia's economic recruiters helped bring more than $6.3 billion of new business investment and an estimated 30,309 new jobs to the Peach State during the fiscal year ended June 30.
The projected employment gains in fiscal 2017 were up by nearly 20 percent from the previous year and came in the past 12 months from 377 companies that worked with Georgia's Global Commerce division of the state Department of Economic Development to either expand or relocate to Georgia.
The value of new business investments last year jumped by 43 percent, or $2.9 billion more than in fiscal 2016, to a record high.
Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday the Peach State "has consistently been named the No. 1 state for business as companies from around the world continue to choose Georgia to relocate their headquarters." But Deal said existing companies also rate the state favorably and accounted for 59 percent of total jobs and 58 percent of overall investments in the past year.
Top states for business
Area Development, a quarterly magazine that covers business site selections, ranked states based upon the opinions of location consultants on the costs of business, workforce quality, state incentives and regulations and other factors.1. Georgia2. South Carolina3. Texas4. Tennessee5. Louisiana6. Alabama7. Indiana8. North Carolina9. Mississippi10. OhioSource: Area Development magazine
"Once companies plant roots here in Georgia, they seem to grow at impressive rates, thanks in part to the business-friendly climate we have carefully cultivated and our highly skilled workforce," Deal said Tuesday during an appearance at the new Honeywell North American Software Center in Atlanta.
In the current issue of Area Development magazine, Georgia is again picked as the top state for business for the fourth consecutive year. The executive publication, which covers corporate site selection and relocation, named Georgia the No. 1 state for business in its 2017 Top States for Doing Business rankings.
Mark Crawford, a writer for Area Development, said Georgia is viewed as "business-friendly and responsive" to business needs.
"Its reputation starts with its business-friendly climate, including reasonable statutes, sound economic development policy, and strong business development support," Crawford said.
Tennessee ranked fourth among the 50 states for its business environment. Area Development ranked the Volunteer State No. 1 for its "shovel-ready" sites program, praising the Select Tennessee Certified sites where infrastructure and roads are ready for immediate development. Tennessee also earned favor with consultants for improving its workforce with more college and technical training from its free two-year community college tuition plan as part of the state's "Drive to 55" program.
About 41,000 Tennessee students also graduated with STEM-related qualifications at Tennessee institutions in 2015 - an increase of 20 percent in just five years. Graduates in engineering, engineering technologies, and engineering-related fields grew by 25.2 percent over the same time period.
Tennessee also led the nation in two of the past three years for the per capita level of direct foreign investments. With major foreign-based companies in the state such as Nissan, Volkswagen, Wacker, Denso, BASF and others, more than 123,000 Tennessee workers are employed by foreign-based companies.
Georgia also increased its recruitment of foreign-based companies in the past year. Among the new businesses, 86 were foreign direct investments, creating more than 6,000 jobs from $1.6 billion in investment.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.