Columbus Chamber Announces Ohio Ranked on "Top 10 Business Climates" List for 2009

    COLUMBUS, OH, November 19, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Columbus Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce Ohio has moved up three spots from last year on Site Selection magazine's "Top 10 Business Climates" list for 2009. Other states in the top five included North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee.

"We are honored to earn the status of having a top business climate, espcially considering the state of today's economy," Bill LaFayette, vice president of Economic Analysis for the Columbus Chamber, said. "We're proud Columbus has been leading Ohio's employment and population growth."

In fact, in March 2009, Ohio unemployment was at 8.8 percent. Despite this, the Chamber said Ohio received its third consecutive "Governor's Cup Award" from Site Selection magazine in March. In August 2009, Columbus's unemployment rate was at 8.7 percent, contributing to Ohio's decreased rate of 10.8 percent, and the U.S. rate of 9.7 percent.

"We expect continued growth for Ohio's economy, as well as the Columbus economy," LaFayette said. "The recognition from Site Selection magazine is a great reinforcement for us. Columbus is already the second-fastest growing major metropolitan area in the Midwest, and the entire community is seizing new opportunities to propel Greater Columbus into the ranks of the nation's most innovative, attractive and business-friendly communities."

Site Selection magazine's business climate rankings are determined by a business activity-tracking database run by Conway Data Inc., publisher of Site Selection, and by a survey of corporate site seekers across the country.

For more information about the Columbus Chamber, visit www.columbus.org.

About the Columbus Chamber of Commerce
The Columbus Chamber of Commerce leads and supports economic growth and development in the Greater Columbus community. It supports a membership of 2,700 businesses. Learn more about Columbus at www.columbus.org.

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