Utah called second-best pro-business state

Utah is the second-best state in the country in creating a pro-business climate, according to a newly released rating by a geoeconomist and corporate relocation expert.

Though there are plenty of surveys rating states' business-friendliness, some in which Utah does well, and some in which it does not do well, this one showed the state moving up from ninth place.

Ronald Pollina, Chicago-based author of "Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2009: Rebuilding America's Economic Power," said Utah was surpassed only by Virginia in terms of job retention and creation.

"The effort to make America more business friendly must come from all levels of government. America must be an integral part of global business if it is to remain a superpower, but we have done a terrible job of integrating ourselves into the 21st century marketplace," he said. "There are, however, states that serve as a model for the rest of the country."

Virginia, Utah, North Carolina, Wyoming and South Carolina are the best, Pollina said, citing 33 factors including taxes, human resources, right-to-work legislation, energy costs and infrastructure. Other key measures are work compensation laws, economic incentive programs and state economic development efforts.

Pollina's high regard for Utah naturally pleased Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

"Utah has worked tirelessly to be business friendly,"

he said. "Our productive work force, favorable tax climate and overall environment has been successful in growing and recruiting some of America's leading businesses."

The ranking, Perry added, "recognizes that success and our ongoing commitment to keep the Utah economic engine humming."

As mentioned, rankings come out all the time.

For instance, in another high-profile ranking, Kiplinger.com recently put out its list of "Best Cities," places with "stable employment plus the talent to create new, well-paying positions." It hailed a "robust job market," the key criterion in Pollina's ranking, as crucial to making "these cities safe havens during the recession and [giving] them a head start toward growth when the recovery takes off."

But Utah's capital and economic driver, Salt Lake City, is not in Kiplinger.com's Top 10. Its top five are Huntsville, Ala., Albuquerque, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Va. and Athens, Ga.

On the other hand, CNBC.com's 2008 rankings of "America's Top States For Business," released last July, put Utah in third place, right behind Texas and Virginia. It was based on 40 "measures of competitiveness," including cost of living, work force, economy, education, technology, quality of life and transportation.

In that report, Utah's economy was its strongest feature (third overall), followed by sixth place for friendliness to business and quality of life. (CNBC.com said New Jersey's quality of life was best.) Education (46th) was Utah's weakest criterion.

Rankings are important to state and regional efforts to attract not just desirable companies but also talented individuals, said Bo Carson, spokesman for the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina, which markets Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.

And, he added, "getting praise from an independent source is always a good thing. It plays well in the economic development world because you're not tooting your own horn. Somebody else is doing it for you."

mikeg@sltrib.com