Impressive economic growth in the last year landed Wisconsin its first ever spot on the honor roll of the Center for Enterprise Development’s annual economic report, the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization announced Wednesday.
CFED’s 18th annual Development Report Card for the States found gains in Wisconsin’s human and infrastructure resources and competitiveness of existing businesses.
The report, which measures 68 different criteria among the 50 states, awarded Wisconsin grades of A, B and B in three broad categories: Performance, Business Vitality and Development Capacity, respectively. The grades earned Wisconsin a place on the honor roll with seven other states, including Connecticut, the only state to earn As in all three categories.
Among the 68 individual categories, Wisconsin ranked in the top 10 nationally for loans to small businesses, employer health coverage and the statewide poverty rate. Wisconsin also upped its employment grade from a D to a C due to a strong uptick in short-term growth.
Still, the report said work remains to be done in the Badger State. Wisconsin ranked 49th among the states in terms of mass layoffs and also earned low marks for private research and development and entrepreneurial energy, the report concluded.
Wisconsin remains plagued by tepid entrepreneurial growth, according to state Department of Commerce spokesman Tony Hozeny.
Nationally, entrepreneurial activity is up, although not by enough to offset the loss of quality jobs in recent years, the report found.
State Rep. Terri McCormick, R-Appleton, said the Wisconsin legislature’s focus on making the state more business-friendly is becoming evident.
“A couple years ago, the perception was that Wisconsin was difficult at best to do business in,” said McCormick, whom Speaker John Gard appointed Wednesday to chair the Assembly Economic Development Committee for a second term. “Regulations didn’t allow businesses to operate in a streamlined manner.”
Initiatives last session easing regulations, hastening timelines for obtaining permits and encouraging capital investment have changed that, McCormick said.
“Is there more work to do? Yes,” she said. “But we’re giving the perception and reality that Wisconsin is now focused on jobs.”
Last week, Gov. Jim Doyle announced the formation of the Wisconsin Entrepreneur’s Network, a joint effort between several state agencies to encourage entrepreneurial growth. The network seeks to boost business start-ups at all stages of development through counseling strategies to better access capital.
