Posted on: Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Poll says business climate still frosty

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i, which has one of the hottest economies in the nation, continues to rank low on business climate.

Hawai'i ranked as the fifth least attractive state for business, according to a poll of 458 chief executives released yesterday. California and New York ranked as the most unappealing, followed by Massachusetts and Washington, in the survey released by "Chief Executive Magazine."

Texas, Nevada and Florida ranked as the most favorable for business. Taxation, labor laws and regulations were among the factors considered.

Earlier this month a report card on Hawai'i's economy gave the state failing grades in two out of three broad economic development categories and a "B" grade in the other.

Hawai'i's rankings in the annual report released by the Washington, D.C.-based Corporation for Enterprise Development were a slight improvement from last year when the state received "F" grades for business vitality and capacity for future development and a "D" for economic performance.

This year the state received a "B" for economic performance.

The corporation, an advocate of economic opportunities for the poor, bases its 18th annual Development Report Card for the States on 68 measures ranging from an area's crime rate and air quality to its industrial diversity and record for creating new companies and jobs.

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.