The Washington Research Council has all the news you can use on Washington’s recent #33 ranking by Chief Executive magazine. This annual look at the “best and worst states for business” has Washington well entrenched in the bottom of half of all states, though the state has moved from 36th to 33rd in the last year. As the Research Council points out on its blog:
The magazine’s rankings reflect CEO perceptions. In the 10th annual survey of CEOs concerning their views of the best and worst states for business, over 500 CEOs across the U.S. responded. Business leaders were asked to grade states with which they were familiar on a variety of measures that CEOs themselves have said are critical. These include the tax and regulatory regime, the quality of the workforce and the quality of the living environment. For example, a state’s attitude toward business is viewed as a critical component of its tax and regulatory regime, while employees’ attitude toward management is considered a crucial factor in the perceived quality of a region’s workforce. Public education and health are also important factors in the living environment, as are such things as cost of living and affordable housing.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief, J.P. Donlon, offers his insights here.