WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Who says Washington state is great for jobs? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that’s who!

Washington state is a great place for business.

That’s the conclusion of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which ranked all 50 states and consistently put the Evergreen State among the top performers, with an overall ranking of 6th best in the nation.

The Chamber of Commerce examined five areas: exports, business climate, talent pipeline, infrastructure and innovation/entrepreneurship.

By comparison, the state we keep hearing will steal our Boeing jobs – South Carolina – got ranked 41st out of 50 states.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce isn’t taking a flier by naming Washington state a great place to do business.

Year after year, different think tanks and groups take a look at all the states and identify Washington as one of the best places for businesses.

David Groves of The Stand points out that outside conservative groups consistently put Washington state on top:

chamberSmall Business & Entrepreneurship Council’s 2012 Business Tax Index says Washington is 5th best in terms of its business tax system. This Virginia-based group advocates for lower business taxes across the nation and ranks states “according to the costs of their tax systems for entrepreneurship and small business.”

Tax Foundation’s 2013 Business Tax Climate Index finds Washington is 6th best in the nation for low business taxes. This conservative foundation says its report “enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare.”

Forbes’ Best States for Business says Washington is 11th best in the nation. States in this list get bonus points for actively discouraging unionization; all but one of Forbes’ top 10 states are so-called “right-to-work” states. So for a heavily unionized state like Washington to rank 11th best is high praise indeed! Which brings us to…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says Washington ranks 4th best in unionization rate, with the state’s 513,000 union members accounting for 18.5% of the overall workforce.