Written by From Staff Reports Friday, 03 May 2013 00:00
May 3, 2013 – Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, has released the second-annual Thumbtack.com Small Business Friendliness Survey showing that Georgia ranks among the best states small businesses. Within Georgia, the Metro Atlanta region scored highest for small business friendliness, followed by Central Georgia.
The Thumbtack.com Small Business Friendliness Survey is the only survey to obtain data from an extensive, nationwide universe of job creators and entrepreneurs in order to determine the most business-friendly locations. While there are various “business climate rankings” that rate locations as good or bad for business, there are no others that draw upon considerable data from small business owners themselves.
“Georgia ranked among the best states in terms of its support of small business,” said Sander Daniels, co-founder of Thumbtack.com. “Our research points to the importance of clear and consistent regulations in creating a friendly environment for entrepreneurs, and this is exactly where Georgia delivers.”
Some of the key findings for Georgia include:
• Georgia earned an 'A' grade for the ease of hiring additional employees. Additionally, Georgia small businesses reported hiring plans that were among the highest of any state.
• The state received a higher rating for its licensing and permitting requirements, improving from a 'B' in 2012 to an 'A-' this year.
• Nationally, professional licensing requirements were more important to small business owners than taxes in determining a state’s overall business-friendliness, confirming the findings from last year’s study.
• African-American and Hispanic small business owners were more likely than their white counterparts to encourage others to start a new business.
• The top ranking states overall were Utah, Alabama, New Hampshire, Idaho, and Texas. The lowest rated were Illinois, California, Hawaii, Maine and, in last place, Rhode Island.
• Atlanta fared well among major cities nationwide, earning an 'A-' overall.
• Although the state performed quite well in most categories, it scored only slightly above average for its training and networking programs, earning a 'B' in this area.
“It is critical to the economic health of every city and state to create an entrepreneur-friendly environment,” said Dane Stangler, director of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “Policymakers put themselves in the best position to encourage sustainable growth and long-term prosperity by listening to the voices of small business owners themselves.”
The full survey results can be seen here and include full sets of rankings, easily searchable quotes from Georgia small businesses, regional comparisons within states, and Census data comparing Georgia's key demographics against those of other states.
"I have not found it difficult to start or run a business in Georgia. While you definitely need to do your research, the requirements and processes have seemed reasonable and fair."
Survey Methodology
Thumbtack.com surveyed 7,766 small businesses across the United States. The survey asked questions about the friendliness of states and cities toward small business, such as:
• "In general, how would you rate your state’s support of small business owners?”
• “Would you discourage or encourage someone from starting a new business where you live?” and
• “Do you think you pay your fair share of taxes?”
Thumbtack and Kauffman ranked states and cities against one another along more than a dozen metrics.
Written by From Staff Reports Thursday, 18 April 2013 13:04
April 18, 2013 – The Georgia Department of Labor has announced that Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 8.4 percent in March, the lowest rate since December 2008. The rate was down two-tenths of a percentage point from 8.6 percent in February and seven-tenths of a percentage point from 9.1 percent in March a year ago.
The rate declined because of an increase in the number of jobs and fewer new layoffs.
“Georgia employers created 23,700 jobs last month, which is one of the best job growth numbers we’ve had in March for almost a decade,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “The growth was in several industries, led by leisure and hospitality and professional and business services.”
Additional growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, 4,400; construction, 2,300; and local government, 1,800. The March growth pushed the number of jobs to 3,997,100, up from 3,973,400 in February.
Butler said there was also strong over-the-year job growth, as Georgia employers added 75,500 jobs, or 1.9 percent, since March 2012. Again the growth was in several sectors: professional and business services, 29,800; trade, transportation, and warehousing, 13,000; manufacturing, 4,300; information services, 4,100; financial activities, 2,400; and construction, 200.
The number of new layoffs, represented by new claims for unemployment insurance benefits, decreased by 1,713 from 38,696 in February to 36,983 in March, the lowest for any month since September 2007. The decreases came mostly in construction, wholesale trade, transportation, and warehousing, administrative and support services, accommodations and food services, other personal services, and real estate, rental, and leasing. And, the number of initial claims was down over-the-year by 5,693, or 13.3 percent, from 42,676 in March 2012. Most of the over-the-year declines came in the same industries as the monthly declines.
The number of long-term unemployed workers declined for the 11th consecutive month. It fell 6,500 to 181,100 in March, its lowest level since January 2010. The long-term unemployed – those out of work for more than 26 weeks – make up 44.5 percent of those unemployed in Georgia.
And, the state’s labor force, those working or actively seeking employment, declined to 4,821,591, down 18,241 from 4,839,832 in February. It was 4,797,535 in March 2012.
