At Wednesday’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Summit, Gov. Gary R. Herbert joined the Governor’s Roundtable to discuss issues outlined in the Enterprising States 2014 report and why Utah is succeeding.
In the annual report, Utah earned the most top 10 and top 25 rankings in the 33 categories measured in the study.
“Utah’s economy is strong because it is diverse and we focus on job growth, keeping taxes low, maintaining a stable regulatory environment and affordable, sustainable energy resources,” said Gov. Herbert. “We work to be business friendly and have a skilled labor force that is tech-savvy, industrious, multi-lingual and well educated.”
This year’s Enterprising States report includes an emphasis on the skills gap in today’s labor force. During the roundtable, the governor addressed what Utah is doing to overcome this concern.
“Utah is united behind the goal that 66 percent of our working population will have a college degree or post-secondary certificate by the year 2020,” said Gov. Herbert. “In addition, we are focusing on STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to better align the skills of Utahns with the growing needs of the job market.”
The updated edition of Enterprising States, released at the Small Business Summit, takes an in-depth look at the free enterprise policies being implemented to promote economic growth at the state level.
The report highlights Utah as a top state in numerous areas, including:
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Top five in all three job growth measures – Long-term; Short-term; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
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#3 in Gross State Product Growth
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#3 in Growth in share of national exports
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#3 in Higher-ed degree output
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#4 in Export intensity and growth
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#4 in New start up rate
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#5 in Bridge quality
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#6 in Labor force utilization
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#7 in High-tech share of all businesses
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#7 in Small business lending
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#7 in High School Advanced Placement scores
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#8 in Productivity growth
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#8 in Legal environment
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#8 in Cost of living
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#8 in College affordability
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#9 in Business tax climate
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#10 Academic R&D intensity
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#10 U.S. Business policy index
For the full report, visit www.enterprisingstates.com.
