GOV. RITTER PRAISES COLORADO’S RANKING AS 4th BEST STATE FOR BUSINESS

Gov. Ritter today praised Forbes.com for naming Colorado as the fourth best state to do business, up from No. 6 last year.

The ranking measures six categories for businesses: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. Colorado finished in the top 15 in four of the six main categories, including quality of its workforce (1st), prospects for growth (2nd), and economic climate.

“ Colorado is honored to be recognized by Forbes.com as the fourth best state to do business,” Gov. Ritter said. “We have one of the nation’s most highly skilled workforces and tremendous job growth opportunities. Combine that with the low cost of doing business and our excellent quality of life, and there’s no question Colorado will emerge from this downturn quicker, stronger and healthier.”

In July, CNBC ranked Colorado No. 3 on its prestigious annual list of America 's Top States for Business, specifically citing the state's New Energy Economy. Also in July, MSNBC named Colorado as one of the five states most likely to recover first from the downtown.

Over the past three years, Gov. Ritter has launched aggressive economic-development initiatives that are strengthening Colorado ’s businesses, communities and working families. He has helped build Colorado ’s nationally recognized New Energy Economy, provided tax cuts to 30,000 small businesses, invested in employee training, reformed the business tax code to encourage growth, and allowed for greater access to loans for small businesses.